The Lower and Middle Atmosphere of Mars as Observed by the Mars Climate Sounder

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[5405] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Atmospheres, [5445] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Meteorology, [5464] Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets / Remote Sensing, [6225] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Mars

Scientific paper

The Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been profiling the Martian atmosphere since September 2006. Employing thermal infrared limb sounding, MCS provides roughly half scale-height profiles of the atmosphere from the surface to over 80 km. MCS thus provides the first systematic mapping of the atmosphere over annual time scales from the surface to levels of the middle atmosphere previously studied via aerobraking. Retrievals of radiance measurements from MCS allow high-quality estimates of the thermal structure and the distribution of mineral dust aerosol, water ice particulates, and CO2 ice particulates. MCS observations have thus far shown that downwelling over the winter poles is significantly stronger than previously modeled, suggesting that the meridional overturning circulation may be stronger than expected. The evolution of the zonal-mean thermal structure in the lower and upper tropospheric circulations suggest never-before-seen seasonal variations in the nature of the dynamical coupling and decoupling. Areas of clear air creation in the downwelling plume along the polar front, and crisp signatures of filamentary mixing are evident in unprecedented detail. The vertical distribution of dust has been shown to differ significantly from pre-MCS estimates, showing a distinct maximum in mixing ratio away from the surface, suggesting a more complex emplacement process than simple vertical diffusion. Mesoscale clouds of water and/or CO2 ice have been observed, as have persistent hazes of CO2 ice over the winter polar caps. In this presentation, I will review the MCS observations and discoveries from the last three years.

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