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A Warm Layer in the Nightside Mesosphere of Mars
Author(s) -
Nakagawa Hiromu,
Jain Sonal K.,
Schneider Nicholas M.,
Montmessin Franck,
Yelle Roger V.,
Jiang Fayu,
Verdier Loic,
Kuroda Takeshi,
Yoshida Nao,
Fujiwara Hitoshi,
Imamura Takeshi,
Terada Naoki,
Terada Kaori,
Seki Kanako,
Gröller Hannes,
Deighan Justin I.
Publication year - 2020
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 - 10.1029/2019gl085646
Subject(s) - mars exploration program , martian , mesosphere , equator , atmospheric sciences , atmosphere (unit) , atmosphere of mars , northern hemisphere , occultation , amplitude , latitude , geology , radio occultation , southern hemisphere , mesopause , astrobiology , geophysics , physics , stratosphere , astronomy , climatology , ionosphere , meteorology , geodesy , quantum mechanics
We report a new set of stellar occultation measurements for nightside temperature profiles made by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN/Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph that provide evidence for a recurring layer of warm air between 70 and 90 km altitudes in the nightside mesosphere of Mars during L s = 0–180° in Martian Year 33–34. The nightside profiles reveal a recurring peak of atmospheric temperature around 80 km over the equator to the middle latitudes in the northern hemisphere. The predictions of the Mars Climate Database have a warm layer with much smaller amplitudes. The observed peak amplitudes are larger than those predicted by the model by up to 90 K. Wavenumber‐3 structures are seen in the warm layer that are potentially signatures of thermal tides or stationary planetary waves, with amplitudes two times larger than predicted.