Geophysical Research Letters (Jul 2024)

Strong Localized Pumping of Water Vapor to High Altitudes on Mars During the Perihelion Season

  • A. Brines,
  • M. A. López‐Valverde,
  • B. Funke,
  • F. González‐Galindo,
  • S. Aoki,
  • G. L. Villanueva,
  • J. A. Holmes,
  • D. A. Belyaev,
  • G. Liuzzi,
  • I. R. Thomas,
  • J. T. Erwin,
  • U. Grabowski,
  • F. Forget,
  • J. J. Lopez‐Moreno,
  • J. Rodriguez‐Gomez,
  • F. Daerden,
  • L. Trompet,
  • B. Ristic,
  • M. R. Patel,
  • G. Bellucci,
  • A. C. Vandaele

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107224
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 51, no. 14
pp. n/a – n/a

Abstract

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Abstract Here we present water vapor vertical profiles observed with the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter/Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery instrument during the perihelion and Southern summer solstice season (LS = 240°–300°) in three consecutive Martian Years 34, 35, and 36. We show the detailed latitudinal distribution of H2O at tangent altitudes from 10 to 120 km, revealing a vertical plume at 60°S–50°S injecting H2O upward, reaching abundance of about 50 ppmv at 100 km. We have observed this event repeatedly in the three Martian years analyzed, appearing at LS = 260°–280° and showing inter‐annual variations in the magnitude and timing due to long term effects of the Martian Year 34 Global Dust Storm. We provide a rough estimate of projected hydrogen escape of 3.2 × 109 cm−2 s−1 associated to these plumes, adding further evidence of the key role played by the perihelion season in the long term evolution of the planet's climate.

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