Quantitative Analysis of the Vertical Interactions between Dust, Zonal Wind, and Migrating Diurnal Tide on Mars and the Role of Gravity Waves

Abstract

In the atmospheric system of Mars, vertical interactions are crucial, yet quantitative studies addressing this issue remain scarce. Based on simulations using the Mars PCM-LMDZ, we present the first frequency-domain quantitative analysis of the vertical interactions among Martian atmospheric dust, zonal circulation, and the migrating diurnal tide (DW1), employing Partial Directed Coherence (PDC) techniques to quantify the strength of associations between different variables. Our findings reveal a chain of influence where sub-seasonal-scale dust signals in the troposphere, through the Doppler effect of middle atmospheric zonal winds, transmit modulated energy to the DW1 in the upper mesosphere, thereby facilitating interlayer atmospheric interactions. The radiative heating from dust activities enhances the residual mean meridional circulation, which, under the influence of the Coriolis force, further accelerates the westerlies. Although gravity wave activity also contributes to the acceleration of the westerlies, its forcing generally remains below 5 m/s, which is relatively weak compared to the impact of intense dust activities in the warm scenario experiments (approximately 20 m/s). Overall, this study quantifies the interactions among atmospheric layers by means of PDC technology and analytically demonstrates how dust energy is transferred to mesospheric tides by shaping the zonal winds in between.

Keywords

• Mars atmosphere
• dust dynamics
• zonal circulation
• tidal interactions
• Partial Directed Coherence
• gravity waves