Atmospheric variations and meteorite production on Mars     

John E. Chappelow  Virgil L. Sharpton 《Icarus》2006,184(2):424-435

Through a combination of aerobraking (drag deceleration) and ablation, meteoroids which enter planetary atmospheres may be slowed sufficiently to soft-land as meteorites. Results of an earlier study suggest that the current 6 mbar atmosphere of Mars is sufficient to aerobrake significant numbers of small (<10 kg) asteroidal-type meteoroids into survivable, low-velocity (<500 m s⁻¹) impacts with the planet's surface. Since rates of meteorite production depend upon the density of Mars's atmosphere, they must also change as the martian climate changes. However, to date, martian meteorite production has received relatively little attention in the literature Here we expand upon our previous work to study martian meteorite production rates and how they depend upon variations of the martian atmosphere, and to estimate the ranges of mass, velocity and entry-angle that produce meteorites. We find that even the current atmosphere of Mars is sufficient to soft-land significant fractions of incident stony and iron objects, and that these fractions increase dramatically for denser martian atmospheres. Therefore, like impact cratering, meteorite populations may preserve evidence of past martian climates.  相似文献   

Cassini CIRS retrievals of ammonia in Jupiter's upper troposphere     

Richard K. Achterberg  Barney J. Conrath 《Icarus》2006,182(1):169-180

The zonal mean ammonia abundance on Jupiter between the 400- and 500-mbar pressure levels is inferred as a function of latitude from Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer data. Near the Great Red Spot, the ammonia abundance is mapped as a function of latitude and longitude. The Equatorial Zone is rich in ammonia, with a relative humidity near unity. The North and South Equatorial Belts are depleted relative to the Equatorial Zone by an order of magnitude. The Great Red Spot shows a local maximum in the ammonia abundance. Ammonia abundance is highly correlated with temperature perturbations at the same altitude. Under the assumption that anomalies in ammonia and temperature are both perturbed from equilibrium by vertical motion, we find that the adjustment time constant for ammonia equilibration is about one third of the radiative time constant.  相似文献   

Thick and thin models of the evolution of carbon dioxide on Mars     

Curtis V. Manning  Christopher P. McKay 《Icarus》2006,180(1):38-59

We present results from a new simulation code that accounts for the evolution of the reservoirs of carbon dioxide on Mars, from its early years to the present. We establish a baseline model parameter set that produces results compatible with the present (i.e., Patm?6.5 mbar with permanent CO₂ ice cap) for a wide range of initial inventories. We find that the initial inventory of CO₂ broadly determines the evolutionary course of the reservoirs of CO₂. The reservoirs include the atmosphere, ice cap, adsorbed CO₂ in the regolith, and carbonate rocks. We track the evolution of the free inventory: the atmosphere, ice cap and regolith. Simulations begin at 4.53 Gyr before present with a rapid loss of free inventory to space in the early Noachian. Models that assume a relatively small initial inventory (?5 bar) have pronounced minima in the free inventory of CO₂ toward the end of the Noachian. Under baseline parameters, initial inventories below ∼4.5 bar result in a catastrophic loss of the free inventory to space. The current free inventory would be then determined by the balance between outgassing, sputtering losses and chemical weathering following the end of the late bombardment. We call these “thin” models. They generically predict small current free inventories in line with expectations of a small present CO₂ ice cap. For “thick” models, with initial inventories ?5 bar, a surplus of 300-700 mbar of free CO₂ remains during the late-Noachian. The histories of free inventory in time for thick models tend to converge within the last 3.5 Gyr toward a present with an ice cap plus atmospheric inventory of about 100 mbar. For thick models, the convergence is largely due to the effects of chemical weathering, which draws down higher free inventories more rapidly than the low. Thus, thick models have ?450 mbar carbonate reservoirs, while thin models have ?200 mbar. Though both thick and thin scenarios can reproduce the current atmospheric pressure, the thick models imply a relatively large current CO₂ ice cap and thin models, little or none. While the sublimation of a massive cap at a high obliquity would create a climate swing of greenhouse warming for thick models, under the thin model, mean temperatures and pressures would be essentially unaffected by increases in obliquity.  相似文献   

Comparison between polar regions of Mars from HEND/Odyssey data     

M.L. Litvak  I.G. Mitrofanov  A.B. Sanin  W.V. Boynton  D. Hamara  R.S. Saunders 《Icarus》2006,180(1):23-37

In this paper, we have analyzed neutron spectroscopy data gathered by the High Energy Neutron Detector (HEND) instrument onboard Mars Odyssey for comparison of polar regions. It is known that observation of the neutron albedo of Mars provides important information about the distribution of water-ice in subsurface layers and about peculiarities of the CO₂ seasonal cycle. It was found that there are large water-rich permafrost areas with contents of up to ∼50% water by mass fraction at both the north and south Mars polar regions. The water-ice layers at high northern latitudes are placed close to the surface, but in the south they are covered by a dry and relatively thick (10-20 cm) layer of soil. Analysis of temporal variations of neutron flux between summer and winter seasons allowed the estimation of the masses of the CO₂ deposits which seasonally condense at the polar regions. The total mass of the southern seasonal deposition was estimated as 6.3×¹⁰¹⁵ kg, which is larger than the total mass of the seasonal deposition at the north by 40-50%. These results are in good agreement with predictions from the NASA Ames Research Center General Circulation Model (GCM). But, the dynamics of the condensation and sublimation processes are not quite as consistent with these models: the peak accumulation of the condensed mass of CO₂ occurred 10-15 degrees of Ls later than is predicted by the GCM.  相似文献   

空间数据计算模式分析与应用     

明冬萍  骆剑承  周成虎  沈占锋  李均力  盛昊 《地球信息科学学报》2006,8(2):84-90

随着传感器和其他数据采集技术的不断进步以及对地观测网络的建设和启动,空间数据的高性能处理和分析成为摆在地学工作者面前的瓶颈。本文以此为出发点,按照不同地学领域(陆地、大气、海洋)的空间数据载体的形态的不同,将空间数据划分为反映固态基质信息的陆地空间数据,反映液态基质信息的陆地水文空间数据,反映液态基质信息的海洋流体空间数据和反映气态基质信息的大气流体空间数据四类,并对每类数据的最小单元问题进行了初步的分析。本文详细阐述了地学空间计算的涵义,并根据计算行为模式及计算的侧重点的不同,将地学计算过程分为深度计算过程与主动计算过程(即“数据→特征→知识”的一般计算过程),并就此进行了阐释。以基于特征的遥感信息提取和目标识别工作为例,对上述理论进行了说明和验证。最后对空间数据计算模式相关问题进行了总结,并对以后的研究做了展望。  相似文献   

Observations of non-LTE emission at 4-5 microns with the planetary Fourier spectrometer abord the Mars Express mission     

V. Formisano  A. Maturilli  E. D'Aversa 《Icarus》2006,182(1):51-67

We report on PFS-MEX (Planetary Fourier Spectrometer on board Mars Express) limb observations of the non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium emission by CO and CO₂ isotopic molecules. The CO emission is observed peaking at altitudes lower than the CO₂ emission peak. Two orbits have been considered, which explore latitudes from 75 to 15° N, located in local time at 11:30 and 06:40, and with Ls=138° and 168°, respectively. In general in the season considered (northern summer) the emission intensity increases going to lower latitudes. The peak emission height is also decreasing with decreasing latitude. The CO₂ isotopic molecules are emitting radiance out of proportion with respect to the normal isotopic abundance, which surely indicates a strong contribution from a large number of much weaker CO₂ bands, a result that will demand careful theoretical modeling. By comparison with Hitran data base we can identify, among the emitting bands, the second hot band for the 626 and 636 molecule, while for the 628 and 627 emission from the third hot bands are very possible. Other minor bands or lines are also observed in emission for the first time in Mars. In one of the two orbits considered, the orbit 1234 of MEX, we also observe at altitudes 80-85 km scattered radiation, with indication of CO₂ ice aerosols as scattering centers. At the same altitude the Pathfinder descending measurements show a temperature that allows CO₂ condensation. Pathfinder measurements were at 03:00 local time, while our observations are for orbit 1234 showing CO₂ ice signature at 11:30 local time. These non-LTE limb emissions, with their unprecedented spectral resolution in this portion of the near infrared and their sensitivity and geographical coverage, will represent in our opinion an excellent data set for testing current theoretical models of the martian upper atmosphere.  相似文献   

Saturn's cloud structure and temporal evolution from ten years of Hubble Space Telescope images (1994-2003)     

S. Pérez-Hoyos  A. Sánchez-Lavega  J.F. Rojas 《Icarus》2005,176(1):155-174

We present a study of the vertical structure of clouds and hazes in the upper atmosphere of Saturn's Southern Hemisphere during 1994-2003, about one third of a Saturn year, based on Hubble Space Telescope images. The photometrically calibrated WFPC2 images cover the spectral region between the near-UV (218-255 nm) and the near-IR (953-1042 nm), including the 890 nm methane band. Using a radiative transfer code, we have reproduced the observed center-to-limb variations in absolute reflectivity at selected latitudes which allowed us to characterize the vertical structure of the entire hemisphere during this period. A model atmosphere with two haze layers has been used to study the variation of hazes with latitude and to characterize their temporal changes. Both hazes are located above a thick cloud, putatively composed of ammonia ice. An upper thin haze in the stratosphere (between 1 and 10 mbar) is found to be persistent and formed by small particles (radii ∼0.2 μm). The lower thicker haze close to the tropopause level shows a strong latitudinal dependence in its optical thickness (typically τ∼20-40 at the equator but τ∼5 at the pole, at 814 nm). This tropospheric haze is blue-absorbent and extends from 50 to 100 mbar to about ∼400 mbar. Both hazes show temporal variability, but at different time-scales. First, there is a tendency for the optical thickness of the stratospheric haze to increase at all latitudes as insolation increases. Second, the tropospheric haze shows mid-term changes (over time scales from months to 1-2 years) in its optical thickness (typically by a factor of 2). Such changes always occur within a rather narrow latitude band (width ∼5-10°), affecting almost all latitudes but at different times. Third, we detected a long-term (∼10 year) decrease in the blue single-scattering albedo of the tropospheric haze particles, most intense in the equatorial and polar areas. Long-term changes follow seasonal insolation variations smoothly without any apparent delay, suggesting photochemical processes that affect the particles optical properties as well as their size. In contrast, mid-term changes are sudden and show various time-scales, pointing to a dynamical origin.  相似文献   

Connecting atmospheric science and atmospheric models for aerocapture at Titan and the outer planets     

C.G. Justus  Vernon W. Keller  Mary Kae Lockwood 《Planetary and Space Science》2005,53(5):601-605

Many atmospheric measurement systems, such as the sounding instruments on Voyager, gather atmospheric information in the form of temperature versus pressure level. In these terms, there is considerable consistency among the mean atmospheric profiles of the outer planets Jupiter through Neptune, including Titan. On a given planet or on Titan, the range of variability of temperature versus pressure level due to seasonal, latitudinal, and diurnal variations is also not large. However, many engineering needs for atmospheric models relate not to temperature versus pressure level but atmospheric density versus geometric altitude. This need is especially true for design and analysis of aerocapture systems. Drag force available for aerocapture is directly proportional to atmospheric density. Available aerocapture “corridor width” (allowable range of atmospheric entry angle) also depends on height rate of change of atmospheric density, as characterized by density scale height. Characteristics of hydrostatics and the gas law equation mean that relatively small systematic differences in temperature versus pressure profiles can integrate at high altitudes to very large differences in density versus altitude profiles. Thus, a given periapsis density required to accomplish successful aerocapture can occur at substantially different altitudes (∼150-300 km) on the various outer planets, and significantly different density scale heights (∼20-50 km) can occur at these periapsis altitudes. This paper will illustrate these effects and discuss implications for improvements in atmospheric measurements to yield significant impact on design of aerocapture systems for future missions to Titan and the outer planets. Relatively small-scale atmospheric perturbations, such as gravity waves, tides, and other atmospheric variations can also have significant effect on design details for aerocapture guidance and control systems. This paper will discuss benefits that would result from improved understanding of Titan and outer planetary atmospheric perturbation characteristics. Details of recent engineering-level atmospheric models for Titan and Neptune will be presented, and effects of present and future levels of atmospheric uncertainty and variability characteristics will be examined.  相似文献   

双波长卫星激光测距     

张忠萍  李人东  杨福民  扈荆夫 《天文学进展》2005,23(2):99-109

双波长卫星激光测距不必借助大气改正模型，利用双波长往返时间差就可以进行大气折射改正，采用皮秒级事件计时器等技术测量往返时间差，修正精度可以达到毫米量级，介绍了这一领域的研究进展、双波长大气改正的基本原理，分析了双波长激光测距的精度，最后对双波长卫星激光测距前景进行了展望。  相似文献   

Gravity waves in Jupiter's stratosphere, as measured by the Galileo ASI experiment     

Leslie A. Young  Roger V. Yelle  Alvin Seiff  Donn B. Kirk 《Icarus》2005,173(1):185-199

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