Article
 

Transport timescales in the Martian atmosphere: General circulation model simulations

Pubblico Deposited

Contenuto scaricabile

Scarica il pdf
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/zg64tn54g

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • Simulations with a Mars general circulation model (GCM) are used to perform idealized tracer transport experiments, which are analyzed to yield estimates of eddy mixing coefficients as well as “stratospheric” ventilation timescales for the zonal-mean circulation. The results indicate that relatively moderate values of the vertical eddy mixing coefficient, KZ ~20–100 m2/s, may be most appropriate for the 10 to 45-km altitude region of the Martian atmosphere. Under dusty solstice conditions, somewhat stronger eddy mixing is present, but the transport is dominated by advection by the mean meridional circulation which acts to ventilate the atmosphere above 1 mbar (~20 km) in only about 7 days. Such a mean circulation has transport effects which are roughly comparable to those produced by eddy mixing with a much larger KZ value, ~1500 m2/s. In contrast, the computed mean ventilation timescale for a nondusty equinox circulation is approximately 180 days. In this case, vertical eddy mixing is the dominant transport process. In an intermediate nondusty solstice case, the effects of mean advection and eddy mixing are of comparable importance. An estimate of a mean ventilation timescale from the GCM for a late northern winter seasonal date (~45 days) is in very good agreement with the value of ~38 days recently inferred from mariner 9 infrared imaging spectrometer (IRIS) data [Santee and Crisp, 1995].
Resource Type
DOI
Date Available
Date Issued
Citation
  • Barnes, J.R., Walsh, T.D., and Murphy, J.R., 1996, Transport timescales in the Martian atmosphere: General circulation model simulations. Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 101, Pg. 16,881–16,889.
Journal Title
Journal Volume
  • 101
Journal Issue/Number
  • E7
Dichiarazione dei diritti
Funding Statement (additional comments about funding)
  • This work was supported by a grant from the Planetary Atmospheres Program of NASA and a Cooperative Agreement with NASA Ames Research Center.
Publisher
Language
Replaces
ISSN
  • 0148-0227

Le relazioni

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Elementi

Thumbnail Titolo Data caricata Visibilità Azioni
file details Barnes_et_al_Transport_Timescales_JRG_1996.pdf 2017-07-21 Pubblico Scaricare