The dust storm and its interaction with atmospheric waves on Mars

Abstract

Mars shares many similarities with Earth. The comparative study of the climate between the two planets is of great significance to understand the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere. On the other hand, Mars is a desert planet with plenty of dust particles both on the ground and in the atmosphere. The dust cycle including the dust storm is an extremely important component of the climate system to Mars. Based on previous researches on the Martian dust storms and atmospheric waves, we summarized the temporal and spatial scales and the seasonal evolution of Martian dust storms. We introduced the characteristics of the Martian atmospheric tides and planetary waves and their responses to dust storms. The dynamical effect of the atmospheric waves on the transport and evolution of dust storms and the spatial distribution of the airborne dust is also significant. More future studies are needed to understand the coupling process between dust storms and atmospheric waves.

Keywords

• martian atmosphere
• dust storm
• wave
• dynamics
• coupling