Modeling the changes in mass of Mars' seasonal polar icecaps with gravity

Computer Science

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Scientific paper

Observations of changes in the Martian gravity field due to the seasonal exchange of CO2 between the atmosphere and the surface can used in the development of simple models of the two seasonal polar icecaps and their changes with season. The changes in the gravity field at the lowest spherical harmonic degrees (1 thru' 3) have been measured every 5 days for over 2 Mars years and the simplest point mass model for CO2 deposited at each of the two poles can be represented by the sum and difference of the degree 1 and 2 gravity coefficients, and the degree 2 and 3 coefficients. A more realistic model that represents the icecap as a spherical cap can be described by the first 4 gravity coefficients (1 thru' 4 or 2 thru' 5) additionally provides the radii of the 2 caps. More complicated models can be constructed but generally require knowledge of the variation of a larger number of gravity coefficients than are presently available. However, even simple models can be used to monitor the main changes in masses of the icecaps and infer changes in mean global atmospheric pressure.

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