Global circulation of Mars' upper atmosphere

M Benna; S W Bougher; Y Lee; K J Roeten; E Yiğit; P R Mahaffy; B M Jakosky

doi:10.1126/science.aax1553

Global circulation of Mars' upper atmosphere

Science. 2019 Dec 13;366(6471):1363-1366. doi: 10.1126/science.aax1553.

Authors

M Benna^{1

2}, S W Bougher³, Y Lee^{4

2}, K J Roeten³, E Yiğit⁵, P R Mahaffy⁴, B M Jakosky⁶

Affiliations

¹ Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA. mehdi.benna@nasa.gov.
² Center for Space Sciences and Technology, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Department of Climate and Space Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
⁴ Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
⁵ Department of Physics and Astronomy, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
⁶ Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.

PMID: 31831665
DOI: 10.1126/science.aax1553

Abstract

The thermosphere of Mars is the interface through which the planet is continuously losing its reservoir of atmospheric volatiles to space. The structure and dynamics of the thermosphere is driven by a global circulation that redistributes the incident energy from the Sun. We report mapping of the global circulation in the thermosphere of Mars with the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft. The measured neutral winds reveal circulation patterns simpler than those of Earth that persist over changing seasons. The winds exhibit pronounced correlation with the underlying topography owing to orographic gravity waves.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.