Radio Occultation Measurements of Diurnal and Semidiurnal Kelvin Waves on Mars

Details Radio Occultation Measurements of Diurnal and Semidiurnal Kelvin Waves on Mars Radio Occultation Measurements of Diurnal and Semidiurnal Kelvin Waves on Mars

Sep 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006dps....38.6020h&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #38, #60.20; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 38, p.601

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The Radio Science (RS) investigations of both Mars Express (MEX) and Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) include radio occultation experiments that sound the neutral atmosphere from the surface to an altitude of 40-50 km. Each experiment yields profiles of temperature and geopotential versus pressure with a vertical resolution of <1; km. We are using selected data from these RS experiments along with simulations by the GFDL Mars General Circulation Model (MGCM) to investigate thermal tides on Mars. During June-July 2004, MEX occultations sounded the atmosphere at latitudes of 40°N to 20°S during midspring of the northern hemisphere (Ls = 40°-70°) at a fixed local time of 1700. Simultaneous MGS occultations provided complementary results near 35°N at a fixed local time of 0400. Geopotential measurements at these two local times contain distinctive modulation caused by solar-asynchronous thermal tides, including both diurnal and semidiurnal components. Through MGCM simulations of the observed zonal, meridional, and vertical structure, we identify two eastward-propagating tidal modes. Both appear to be Kelvin waves. One has a diurnal period and a zonal wave number of 1 (DK1), and the other has a semidiurnal period and a zonal wave number of 2 (SK2). These are the most direct observations to date of the SK2 mode in the lower atmosphere. Its amplitude increases steadily with increasing height, resulting in large zonal variations of density at aerobraking altitudes (110-160 km) [e.g., Withers et al., Icarus, 164, 14-32, 2003].

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