Martian Atmospheric Aerosols Composition and Distribution Retrievals During the First Martian Year of NOMAD/TGO Solar Occultation Measurements: 1. Methodology and Application to the MY 34 Global Dust Storm
View/ Open
Authors
Stolzenbach, A.
López Valverde, M.-A.
Brines, A.
Modak, A.
Funke, B.
González-Galindo, F.
Thomas, I.
Liuzzi, G.
Villanueva, G.
Luginin, M.
Aoki, S.
Grabowski, U.
Lopez Moreno, J.J.
Rodrìguez Gòmez, J.
Wolff, M.
Ristic, B.
Daerden, F.
Bellucci, G.
Patel, M.
Vandaele, A.C.
Discipline
Physical sciences
Subject
Mars
GDS
aerosol
TGO
NOMAD
Audience
Scientific
Date
2023Metadata
Show full item recordDescription
Since the beginning of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) science operations in April 2018, its instrument ?Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery? (NOMAD) supplies detailed observations of the IR spectrums of the Martian atmosphere. We developed a procedure that allows us to evaluate the composition and distribution's parameters of the atmospheric Martian aerosols. We use a retrieval program (RCP) in conjunction with a radiative forward model (KOPRA) to evaluate the vertical profile of aerosol extinction from NOMAD measurements. We then apply a model/data fitting strategy of the aerosol extinction. In this first article, we describe the method used to evaluate the parameters representing the Martian aerosol composition and size distribution. MY 34 GDS showed a peak intensity from LS 190° to 210°. During this period, the aerosol content rises multiple scale height, reaching altitudes up to 100 km. The lowermost altitude of aerosol's detection during NOMAD observation rises up to 30 km. Dust aerosols reff were observed to be close to 1 ?m and its ?eff lower than 0.2. Water ice aerosols reff were observed to be submicron with a ?eff lower than 0.2. The vertical aerosol structure can be divided in two parts. The lower layers are represented by higher reff than the upper layers. The change between the lower and upper layers is very steep, taking only few kilometers. The decaying phase of the GDS, LS 210°?260°, shows a decrease in altitude of the aerosol content but no meaningful difference in the observed aerosol's size distribution parameters.
Citation
Stolzenbach, A.; López Valverde, M.-A.; Brines, A.; Modak, A.; Funke, B.; González-Galindo, F.; Thomas, I.; Liuzzi, G.; Villanueva, G.; Luginin, M.; Aoki, S.; Grabowski, U.; Lopez Moreno, J.J.; Rodrìguez Gòmez, J.; Wolff, M.; Ristic, B.; Daerden, F.; Bellucci, G.; Patel, M.; Vandaele, A.C. (2023). Martian Atmospheric Aerosols Composition and Distribution Retrievals During the First Martian Year of NOMAD/TGO Solar Occultation Measurements: 1. Methodology and Application to the MY 34 Global Dust Storm. , Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 128, Issue 11, e2023JE007836, DOI: 10.1029/2022JE007276.Identifiers
url:
Type
Article
Peer-Review
Yes
Language
eng