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A Lorenz/Boer energy budget for the atmosphere of Mars from a “reanalysis” of spacecraft observations
Author(s) -
TabatabaVakili Fachreddin,
Read Peter L.,
Lewis Stephen R.,
Montabone Luca,
Ruan Tao,
Wang Yixiong,
Valeanu Alexandru,
Young Roland M. B.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl065659
Subject(s) - mars exploration program , atmosphere of mars , kinetic energy , martian , environmental science , atmosphere (unit) , atmospheric sciences , energy budget , energy transformation , energy balance , meteorology , climatology , geology , physics , astrobiology , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
We calculate a Lorenz energy budget for the Martian atmosphere from reanalysis derived from Mars Global Surveyor data for Mars years 24–27. We present global, annual mean energy and conversion rates per unit area and per unit mass and compare these to Earth data. The directions of the energy conversion terms for Mars are similar to Earth, with the exception of the barotropic conversion between zonal and eddy kinetic energy reservoirs. Further, seasonal and hemispheric decomposition reveals a strong conversion between zonal energy reservoirs over the year, but these balance each other out in global and annual mean. On separating the diurnal timescale, the contribution to the conversion terms and eddy kinetic energy for diurnal and shorter timescales in many cases (especially during planet‐encircling dust storms) exceeds the contribution of longer timescales. This suggests that thermal tides have a significant effect on the generation of eddy kinetic energy.