Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2004
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agufm.g33a..07z&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2004, abstract #G33A-07
Physics
1863 Snow And Ice (1827), 0920 Gravity Methods
Scientific paper
The atmosphere of Mars deposits CO2 on the polar caps during the fall and winter seasons, which is sublimed back into the atmosphere during spring and summer. This exchange of mass between the surface and the atmosphere is large enough to perturb spacecraft in orbit about the planet. These perturbations are seen as changes in the low degree gravity field of Mars, particularly the C3,0 term. However, obtaining reliable estimates of the seasonal masses from the gravity coefficients has proved difficult because of the correlations between the coefficients. We have developed an approach to estimating these seasonal masses from the tacking data by utilizing an icecap model in which we estimate the masses directly. This approach involves assuming a seasonal cap of given shape and depth, deriving the mass and gravity field of that cap for an assumed density, and adding that delta gravity field multiplied by a scale factor to the a priori static field, then solving for the scale factor that best fits the orbital data. In this approach, all the gravity coefficients are effectively included in the estimation for the adopted model. This approach has been applied to nearly 5 years of MGS tracking, using disks and cones to represent the seasonal caps, and has permitted the estimation of the seasonal caps with better confidence.
Smith Douglas E.
Zuber Maria T.
No associations
LandOfFree
The Gravity Fields and Masses of Mars' Seasonal Icecaps does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Gravity Fields and Masses of Mars' Seasonal Icecaps, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Gravity Fields and Masses of Mars' Seasonal Icecaps will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1646496