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Electrical discharges and broadband radio emission by Martian dust devils and dust storms
Author(s) -
Renno Nilton O.,
Wong AhSan,
Atreya Sushil K.,
de Pater Imke,
RoosSerote Maarten
Publication year - 2003
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 - 10.1029/2003gl017879
Subject(s) - martian , mars exploration program , atmosphere of mars , astrobiology , dust storm , storm , atmospheric sciences , cosmic dust , environmental science , atmosphere (unit) , interplanetary dust cloud , geophysics , physics , geology , meteorology , solar system
Triboelectric charging of saltating and colliding sand and dust particles produces strong electric fields in terrestrial dust devils and dust storms. Acceleration of the charged particles, as well as microdischarges between them, generates wideband electromagnetic radiation. Similar phenomena are expected to be ubiquitous on Mars, because Martian dust devils and dust storms are larger, stronger and more frequent than their terrestrial analogues, and electrical discharges occur at a much lower potential gradient in the thin Martian atmosphere. We present theoretical arguments and observational evidence that Martian dust events produce nonthermal wideband electromagnetic radiation detectable from Earth.