z-logo
Premium
Seminal Evidence of a 2.5‐Sol Ultra‐Fast Kelvin Wave in Mars' Middle and Upper Atmosphere
Author(s) -
Gasperini Federico,
Hagan Maura E.,
Forbes Jeffrey M.
Publication year - 2018
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 - 10.1029/2018gl077882
Subject(s) - atmosphere (unit) , mars exploration program , orbiter , atmosphere of mars , astrobiology , kelvin wave , atmospheric sciences , geology , atmospheric wave , geophysics , environmental science , physics , gravity wave , meteorology , wave propagation , astronomy , climatology , martian , optics
The structure and dynamics of Mars' middle and upper atmosphere is significantly impacted by waves propagating from the lower atmosphere. Using concurrent temperature and neutral density measurements taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN satellites, we demonstrate for the first time that a 2.5‐sol ultra‐fast Kelvin wave is a prominent global‐scale feature of the low‐latitude middle (i.e., 30–80 km) and upper (approximately 150 km) atmosphere of Mars. Further, we present evidence of secondary waves arising from nonlinear interactions between this ultra‐fast Kelvin wave and solar tides, and based on their amplitudes we surmise that they could represent an important source of tidal and longitudinal variability in the aerobraking region.

This content is not available in your region!

Continue researching here.

Having issues? You can contact us here