Other
Scientific paper
May 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002agusm.p41a..10w&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2002, abstract #P41A-10
Other
5409 Atmospheres: Structure And Dynamics, 6225 Mars, 0343 Planetary Atmospheres (5405, 5407, 5409, 5704, 5705, 5707)
Scientific paper
We have used the MGS accelerometer's upper atmospheric density profiles from aerobraking, together the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium, to derive atmospheric pressure profiles along the spacecraft trajectory around periapsis. Two more-or-less independent estimates of atmospheric pressure at periapsis are derived, one from the inbound leg of the atmospheric pass, the other from the outbound leg. Differences between the two estimates imply an error in the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium. The primary cause of deviations from hydrostatic equilibrium is atmospheric winds and we use the deviations to obtain an order-of-magnitude estimate of variations in wind speeds in the martian upper atmosphere. The pressure and density profiles, together with an equation of state, give temperature profiles along the spacecraft trajectory around periapsis. These reveal the latitudinal and diurnal behaviours of upper atmospheric temperatures. When the spacecraft orbit was such that the same portion of the atmosphere was sampled at intervals of one martian day for a period of several days, all three types of profiles display variability due solely to the one day interval between measurements. We characterize latitudinal and diurnal effects on this variability. Individual density profiles show deviations from an ideal exponential atmosphere, primarily in the form of wavelike oscillations about the ideal case. We characterize the wavelengths and amplitudes of these oscillations and their dependences on altitude, latitude, and time of day.
Bougher Stephen W.
Keating Gerald M.
Withers Paul
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