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Polar warming in the middle atmosphere of MarsDuring the 1984 Mars opposition, ground-based laser heterodyne spectroscopy was obtained for the nonthermal core emission of the 10.33-micron R(8) and 10.72-micron P(32) lines of C-12(O-16)2 at 23 locations on the Martian disk. It is deduced on the basis of these data that the temperature of the middle Martian atmosphere varies with latitude, and a meridional gradient of 0.4-0.9 K/deg latitude is indicated. The highest temperatures are noted to lie at high latitudes in the winter hemisphere; as in the terrestrial case of seasonal effects at the menopause, this winter polar warming in the Martian middle atmosphere requires departures from radiative equilibrium. Two-dimensional circulation model comparisons with these results indicate that atmospheric dust may enhance this dynamical heating at high winter latitudes.
Document ID
19860061152
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Deming, D.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Mumma, M. J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Espenak, F.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Kostiuk, T.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Zipoy, D.
(Maryland, University College Park, United States)
Date Acquired
August 12, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1986
Publication Information
Publication: Icarus
Volume: 66
ISSN: 0019-1035
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
86A45890
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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