Alternate oscillations of Martian hydrogen and oxygen upper atmospheres during a major dust storm.

ABSTRACT: Dust storms on Mars play a role in transporting water from its lower to upper atmosphere, seasonally enhancing hydrogen escape. However, it remains unclear how water is diurnally transported during a dust storm and how its elements, hydrogen and oxygen, are subsequently influenced in the upper atmosphere. Here, we use multi-spacecraft and space telescope observations obtained during a major dust storm in Mars Year 33 to show that hydrogen abundance in the upper atmosphere gradually increases because of water supply above an altitude of 60 km, while oxygen abundance temporarily decreases via water ice absorption, catalytic loss, or downward transportation. Additionally, atmospheric waves modulate dust and water transportations, causing alternate oscillations of hydrogen and oxygen abundance

SUBMITTER: Masunaga K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9633821 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature