Spectral Properties of Gravity Waves in Mars' Lower Atmosphere Using Mars Global Surveyor Radio Occultation Measurements

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

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Between January 1998 and June 2006, Mars Global Surveyor produced radio occultations of Mars' lower atmosphere for different seasons, latitudes, and times of day. Each of the occultation measurements yield a temperature-height profile, many of which exhibit obvious wave-like structures, indicative of atmospheric gravity waves (Creasey et al. 2006). The background temperature for each of the 19,820 datasets is calculated using a least-squares polynomial fit which is then subtracted from the profile to obtain the temperature perturbations. Spectral analysis was applied to the temperature perturbation of each profile to obtain individual power spectral densities. The individual spectra were normalized and averaged over different seasons, latitude bands, and altitude ranges. Although the power of the averaged power spectral density of the observed temperature perturbations can vary significantly with season and latitude, the slope of the averaged power spectral density shows no significant variation with season, latitude, or altitude. The observed invariance of the power spectrum slope is in agreement with a number of terrestrial studies of the climatology of gravity waves in the Earth atmosphere and their spectral characteristics (Allen and Vincent 1995). The power of the wave activity on Mars at middle and high latitudes shows a clear seasonal dependence with increased activity in the fall-winter and decreased activity during the spring-summer; the wave activity in the equatorial region shows no strong seasonal variations. These effects probably reflect the relative importance of the underlying topography as a source of atmospheric waves.
Creasey, Forbes, and Hinson, Geophys. Res. Lett., v.33, L01803,
doi:10.1029/2005GL024037, 2006
Allen and Vincent, J. Geophys. Res., v. 100, D1, p. 1327-1350, 1995

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