atmosphere; mars; model simulations; nightglow; nitric oxide; oxygen; Geophysics; Geochemistry and Petrology; Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous); Space and Planetary Science
Abstract :
[en] The Mars NO and the O2 nightglow are produced by the recombination of atoms produced on the dayside by photodissociation and transported to the nightside. These emissions are tracers of the summer to winter pole dynamics in the upper Mars atmosphere. The UV-visible (UVIS) channel of the Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD) spectrometer onboard Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is the first instrument able to simultaneously monitor both nightglow emissions. Observations by NOMAD/UVIS during the first part of the Martian year show that both the NO and O2 nightglow emissions are enhanced near the southern winter pole. Their mean brightnesses are 15 and 108 kR, respectively. These nightglow emissions generally occur between 30 and 60 km, the NO emitting layer being consistently located ∼10 km higher than the O2 nightglow layer. Numerical simulations with the Mars Planetary Climate Model (MPCM, v6.1) properly reproduce the nightglow brightness but tend to overestimate the NO peak altitude by ∼10 km. These results suggest that the atomic oxygen density is correctly predicted by the model but that the nitrogen density altitude distribution might not be properly modeled.
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Soret, Lauriane ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)
González-Galindo, F. ; Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía—CSIC, Granada, Spain
Gérard, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)
Thomas, I.R. ; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium
Ristic, B. ; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium
Willame, Y.; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium
Vandaele, A.C. ; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium
Hubert, Benoît ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Labo de physique atmosphérique et planétaire (LPAP)
Lefèvre, F. ; LATMOS, Paris, France
Daerden, F. ; Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Brussels, Belgium
Patel, M.R. ; School of Physical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
Language :
English
Title :
Ultraviolet NO and Visible O2 Nightglow in the Mars Southern Winter Polar Region: Statistical Study and Model Comparison
BELSPO - Belgian Federal Science Policy Office UKSA - UK Space Agency F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique
Funding text :
The NOMAD experiment was led by the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (IASB\u2010BIRA) with co\u2010PI teams from Spain (IAA\u2010CSIC), Italy (INAF\u2010IAPS) and the United Kingdom (Open University). This project acknowledges funding by: the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) with the financial and contractual coordination by the ESA Prodex Office (PEA 4000103401, 4000121493, 4000140753, 4000140863); by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIU) and European funds (Grants PGC2018\u2010101836\u2010B\u2010I00 and ESP2017\u201087143\u2010R; MINECO/FEDER), from the Severo Ochoa (CEX2021\u2010001131\u2010S) and from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Grants PID2022\u2010137579NB\u2010I00, RTI2018\u2010100920\u2010J\u2010I00 and PID2022\u2010141216NB\u2010I00); by the UK Space Agency (Grants ST/V002295/1, ST/V005332/1, ST/X006549/1, ST/Y000234/1 and ST/R003025/1); and by the Italian Space Agency (Grant 2018\u20102\u2010HH.0). This work was supported by the Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique\u2013FNRS (Grant 30442502; ET_HOME). L. S. and B. H. are supported by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS). We thank the ESA TGO team and its project scientists H. Svedhem and C. Wilson for supporting these observations.The NOMAD experiment was led by the Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (IASB-BIRA) with co-PI teams from Spain (IAA-CSIC), Italy (INAF-IAPS) and the United Kingdom (Open University). This project acknowledges funding by: the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO) with the financial and contractual coordination by the ESA Prodex Office (PEA 4000103401, 4000121493, 4000140753, 4000140863); by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIU) and European funds (Grants PGC2018-101836-B-I00 and ESP2017-87143-R; MINECO/FEDER), from the Severo Ochoa (CEX2021-001131-S) and from MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (Grants PID2022-137579NB-I00, RTI2018-100920-J-I00 and PID2022-141216NB-I00); by the UK Space Agency (Grants ST/V002295/1, ST/V005332/1, ST/X006549/1, ST/Y000234/1 and ST/R003025/1); and by the Italian Space Agency (Grant 2018-2-HH.0). This work was supported by the Belgian Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique\u2013FNRS (Grant 30442502; ET_HOME). L. S. and B. H. are supported by the Belgian Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS). We thank the ESA TGO team and its project scientists H. Svedhem and C. Wilson for supporting these observations.
Soret, L., González‐Galindo, F., Gérard, J.‐C., Thomas, I., Ristic, B., Willame, Y., et al. (2024). Dataset for paper: “Ultraviolet NO and visible O2
nightglow in the Mars southern winter polar region: Statistical study and model comparison [Dataset]. ULiège Open Data Repository.
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