Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2006
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006georl..3314103e&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 33, Issue 14, CiteID L14103
Physics
15
Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Atmospheres (0343, 1060), Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Aurorae And Airglow, Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Interactions With Particles And Fields, Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Ionospheres (2459), Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Magnetospheres (2756)
Scientific paper
Recent observations of plasma waves, electron fluxes, and ion fluxes in Mars' ionosphere indicate that ion heating may have had a significant impact on Mars' atmospheric loss. We discuss two energy sources of plasma waves: the solar wind interaction with Mars and field-aligned currents in regions of crustal magnetic fields. These plasma waves can damp through cyclotron resonance with the O+ population in the ionosphere leading to heating and subsequent O+ escape supporting the ~1025 atoms s-1 (~0.4 kg/s) O+ outflow indicated by present-day observations. A stronger solar wind and O+ source of ~4 Gyr ago could support losses of ~100 kg/s, enough to strip Mars' atmosphere or 10 m of water in a ~0.3 Gyr period. The observational evidence for ion heating is, with current data sets, largely circumstantial so we suggest needed observations.
Andersson L.-L.
Brain Dave
Delory Gregory T.
Ergun Robert E.
Lin Robert P.
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