Abstract
GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 39,
L02201,
5 PP., 2012
doi:10.1029/2011GL050343
Gravity waves, cold pockets and CO2 clouds in the Martian mesosphere
- Mesoscale gravity waves permit subcondensation mesospheric cold pockets
- Regions with observed CO2 clouds feature propitious conditions for GW activity
- Mesoscale modeling appears as a necessary complement to global scale models
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, Paris, France
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científica, Granada, Spain
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científica, Granada, Spain
Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, Paris, France
Many independent measurements have shown that extremely cold temperatures are found in the Martian mesosphere. These mesospheric “cold pockets” may result from the propagation of atmospheric waves. Recent observational achievements also hint at such cold pockets by revealing mesospheric clouds formed through the condensation of CO2, the major component of the Martian atmosphere. Thus far, modeling studies addressing the presence of cold pockets in the Martian mesosphere have explored the influence of large-scale circulations. Mesoscale phenomena, such as gravity waves, have received less attention. Here we show through multiscale meteorological modeling that mesoscale gravity waves could play a key role in the formation of mesospheric cold pockets propitious to CO2 condensation.
Received 15 November 2011; accepted 12 December 2011; published 20 January 2012.
Citation: (2012), Gravity waves, cold pockets and CO2 clouds in the Martian mesosphere, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L02201, doi:10.1029/2011GL050343.
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