Mars MITgcm and Argon in the Martian Atmosphere

Details Mars MITgcm and Argon in the Martian Atmosphere Mars MITgcm and Argon in the Martian Atmosphere

Oct 2010

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.4509l&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #45.09; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.1049

Physics

Scientific paper

Mars Odyssey observed that Argon abundance was greatly enhanced during winter solstice at southern pole in Martian atmosphere. The Argon enrichment factor can reach as high as 6-7. Several studies have examined the mechanisms that cause such enrichment. Current Mars GCMs can produce the seasonal variation of Argon enhancement to some degree. However, they only reproduce aspects of the trend and generally predict an enhancement factor of about 2-3 times smaller than observed. To address the problem of Argon transport, we have developed a new Mars GCM based on the MITgcm, a state-of-art global circulation model, and the Mars atmospheric physics as implemented in PlanetWRF. The Mars MITgcm uses cube-sphere grid finite volume numerics and has several options for the tracer advection scheme. The Mars MITgcm includes topography, a subsurface scheme, a planetary boundary layer, atmospheric dust distribution, radiative transfer and a CO2 cycle. Our model results show close agreement with the annual variability of pressure measured at the Viking Lander sites, as well as matches to MCS temperature profiles. For Argon, unlike prior studies, we tested various tracer advection schemes and found significant variations depending on the quality of the schemes used. We suggest that much of the variations between different prior modeling studies is plausibly related to differences in the advection schemes used. We found that, at 2.5-degree grid resolution, advection schemes with flux limiters provide good match to the Argon enhancement factor for observations for 75 degree poleward in southern winter. Preliminary diagnoses of model results suggest that the polar Argon enhancement during summer solstice results from: first, Argon is transported poleward and trapped by polar vortex; second, the enhancement factor gets larger when more CO2 is condensed. Our work thus far suggests that the Mars MITgcm is ready for solving future scientific questions.

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