Highlights Three phases of ACB identified within 20°S – 40°N and during LS ~ 45 – 135°. Cloud latitude belt shows a northward movement, starting from the phase 2. Movement of the ACB is more prominent over regions nearby Lunae Planum and Xanthe. A correlating behavior of upper-tropospheric dust is found with the ACB evolution. The mechanism is also evident in the amplitude of migrating semidiurnal tide.
Abstract The present study uses five Martian years of observations from Mars Climate Sounder onboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for investigating the Aphelion Cloud Belt (ACB) over the tropics. Analysis of zonal mean water ice column opacity suggests that the spatial extension of the ACB is mainly confined over the tropics and mid-latitudes (-20 – 40°N) during LS ~ 45 – 135° (LS = 0° signifies northern spring equinox). The ACB is seen primarily in the nighttime only due to the truncation of the daytime profile observations at significantly higher altitudes (at ~30 km). Zonal mean ice extinction profiles show ACB’s altitudinal range within ~10 – 40 km, and the existence of a thin cloud band in the absence of a thick ACB during aphelion season. Three phases of the ACB could be identified as the formation phase during LS = 45 – 75° (phase 1), the peak phase during LS = 76 – 105° (phase 2), and the decaying phase during LS = 106 – 135° (phase 3). Observation of the cloud latitude belt shows a northward movement starting from phase 2, prominent over regions nearby Lunae Planum and Xanthe Terra. During this phase, the top level of thick clouds within the ACB decreases to ~20 km in the southern hemisphere, while it increases a little over the northern hemisphere (NH). The decreasing tendency continues in phase 3 over the entire region −10 – 10°N, and the thick cloud base moves higher over the NH, though the vertical depth of it becomes narrower than phase 2. Temperature profiles do not show any noticeable influence on the northward evolution of the ACB. However, the study at a regional level indicates a possible association of upper tropospheric dustiness with the ACB’s evolution. The mechanism is evident in the correlation analysis mostly at an altitude range of ~18 – 35 km. The migrating semidiurnal tide (SMD) as a proxy of dust or water ice forcing, and the calculated upper tropospheric dust radiative heating, shows an apparent northward movement of their peak amplitude within the three phases of the ACB. This match between the spatiotemporal variations of the SMD and the water ice was not observed previously. However, the correlating behavior seems to be prominent in the areas nearby Lunae Planum and Xanthe Terra and the upper-tropospheric region of the atmosphere.
Observation of aphelion cloud belt over Martian tropics, its evolution, and associated dust distribution from MCS data
Advances in Space Research ; 67 , 4 ; 1392-1411
2020-11-12
20 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Taurid Complex Meteoroids Detected Near Aphelion with Ulysses
Online Contents | 1995
|Taurid Complex Meteoroids Detected Near Aphelion with Ulysses
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1995
|Taurid Complex Meteoroids Detected Near Aphelion with Ulysses
Online Contents | 1996
|NTRS | 2008
|Erosion assessment with Martian dust
Elsevier | 2023
|