Physics – Geophysics
Scientific paper
Mar 1996
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1996lpi....27.1509z&link_type=abstract
Lunar and Planetary Science, volume 27, page 1509
Physics
Geophysics
Atmospheres, Geophysics, Gravity Field, Mars
Scientific paper
Movements in the atmosphere of Mars cause changes in the distribution of mass and in the angular momentum that affect the planet's rotation and gravity field. As atmospheric material moves seasonally toward the summer pole the angular momentum of the atmosphere decreases and the rotation rate of the solid part of the planet increases to conserve the planet's total angular momentum. Similarly, as atmospheric material moves away from the pole the body of the planet slows down. The coupling between the atmosphere and the surface is through wind stress acting on the planet's topography. As the atmospheric mass is redistributed during the Mars year the gravity field of the planet is changed and a small seasonal variation in the gravity field is produced. Imbalance in the distribution of atmospheric material with respect to the rotation pole introduces a torque on the rotation axis that excites polar motion.
Haberle Robert M.
Smith Douglas E.
Zuber Maria T.
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