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The Effect of the Martian 2018 Global Dust Storm on HDO as Predicted by a Mars Global Climate Model
Author(s) -
Rossi Loïc,
Vals Margaux,
Montmessin Franck,
Forget François,
Millour Ehouarn,
Fedorova Anna,
Trokhimovskiy Alexander,
Korablev Oleg
Publication year - 2021
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 - 10.1029/2020gl090962
Subject(s) - mars exploration program , martian , atmospheric sciences , storm , environmental science , astrobiology , atmosphere of mars , dust storm , geology , physics , oceanography
The deuterium to hydrogen (D/H) ratio is commonly used to investigate the history of water on Mars, yet the mechanisms controlling present‐day HDO behavior are poorly understood. Significant variations of the D/H ratio were first predicted on the basis of a 3D global climate model, which were later confirmed by ground‐based observations. This behavior, consisting of lower HDO/H 2 O ratios in the colder regions of Mars, is related to the isotopic fractionation occurring at condensation. We leverage this previous effort and present an updated implementation, using the modern version of the model, that remains in agreement with the older version. We explore the impact of the global dust storm (GDS) that occurred during Martian year 34 (MY34) on HDO. Our simulations indicate that HDO is on average 40% more abundant at 100 km during the MY34 GDS year than during a regular year, with likely large consequences for the escape flux of water that year.