Atmospheric structure

The vertical structure of the Martian atmosphere—that is, the relation

of temperature and pressure to altitude—is determined partly by a
complicated balance of several energy-transport mechanisms and
partly by the way energy from the Sun is introduced into
the atmosphere and lost by radiation to space.

Two factors control the vertical structure of the lower atmosphere—

its composition of almost pure carbon dioxide and its content of large
quantities of suspended dust. Because carbon dioxide radiates energy
efficiently at Martian temperatures, the atmosphere can respond
rapidly to changes in the amount of solar radiation received. The
suspended dust absorbs large quantities of heat directly from sunlight
and provides a distributed source of energy throughout the lower
atmosphere.

Surface temperatures depend on latitude and fluctuate over a wide

range from day to night. At the Viking 1 and Pathfinder landing sites
(both about 20° N latitude), the temperatures at roughly human
height above the surface regularly varied from a low near 189 K (−119
°F, −84 °C) just before sunrise to a high of 240 K (−28 °F, −33 °C) in
the early afternoon. This temperature swing is much larger than that
which occurs in desert regions on Earth. The variation is greatest very
close to the ground and occurs because the thin, dry atmosphere
allows the surface to radiate its heat quickly during the night. During
dust storms this ability is impaired, and the temperature swing is
reduced. Above altitudes of a few kilometres, the daily variation is
damped out, but other oscillations appear throughout the atmosphere
as a result of the direct input of solar energy. These temperature and
pressure oscillations, sometimes called tides because they are regular,
periodic, and synchronized with the position of the Sun, give the
Martian atmosphere a very complex vertical structure.

00:0203:45
The cooling of the atmosphere with altitude at a rate of 1.5 K per km
continues upward to about 40 km (25 miles), at which level (called the
tropopause) the temperature becomes a roughly constant 140 K (−210
°F, −130 °C). This rate, measured by the Viking (and later
Pathfinder) spacecraft as they descended through the atmosphere, was
unexpectedly low; scientists had anticipated it to be near 5 K per km.
This rate is significantly lower than that expected for clear air because
of the large amount of suspended dust.

Above 100 km (60 miles), the structure of the atmosphere is

determined by the tendency of the heavier molecules to concentrate
below the lighter ones. This diffusive separation process overcomes
the tendency of turbulence to mix all the constituents together. At
these high altitudes, absorption of ultraviolet light from the Sun
dissociates and ionizes the gases and leads to complex sequences of
chemical reactions. The top of the atmosphere has an average
temperature of about 300 K (80 °F, 27 °C).
Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics
The global pattern of atmospheric circulation on Mars shows many
superficial similarities to that of Earth, but the root causes are very
different. Among these differences are the atmosphere’s ability to
adjust rapidly to local conditions of solar heat input; the lack of
oceans, which on Earth have a large resistance to temperature
changes; the great range in altitude of the surface (see below Character
of the surface); the strong internal heating of the atmosphere because
of suspended dust; and the seasonal deposition and release of a large
part of the Martian atmosphere at the poles.

Near-surface winds at the Viking and Pathfinder landing sites were

usually regular in behaviour and generally light. Average speeds were
typically less than 2 metres per second (4.5 miles per hour), although
gusts up to 40 metres per second (90 miles per hour) were recorded.
Other observations, including streaks of windblown dust and patterns
in dune fields and in the many varieties of clouds, have provided
additional clues about surface winds.

sand dunes on Mars

A field of sand dunes on the floor of Mars's Kaiser Crater, shown in a high-resolution image from the
Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. Wind features on several scales are apparent: the large, relatively
dark dunes; the ripples on the lighter surface across which the dunes are being blown; and a different
ripple pattern at dune margins and where dunes merge. The orientation of the largest dunes
indicates that the strongest winds on the crater floor blow from west to east (left to right).
NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems
Global circulation models, which incorporate all the factors
understood to influence the behaviour of the atmosphere, predict a
strong dependence of winds on the Martian seasons because of the
large horizontal temperature gradients associated with the edge of the
polar caps in the fall and winter. Strong jet streams with eastward
velocities above 100 metres per second (225 miles per hour) form at
high latitudes in winter. Circulation is less dramatic in spring and fall,
when light winds predominate everywhere. On Mars, unlike on Earth,
there is also a relatively strong north-south circulation that transports
the atmosphere to and from the winter and summer poles. The general
circulation pattern is occasionally unstable and exhibits large-scale
wave motions and instabilities: a regular series of rotating high- and
low-pressure systems was clearly seen in the pressure and wind
records at the Viking lander sites.

Smaller-scale motions and oscillations, driven both by the Sun and by

surface topography, are ubiquitous. For example, at the Viking and
Pathfinder landing sites, the winds change in direction and speed
throughout the day in response to the position of the Sun and the local
slope of the land.

Turbulence is an important factor in raising and maintaining the large

quantity of dust found in the Martian atmosphere. Dust storms tend to
begin at preferred locations in the southern hemisphere during the
southern spring and summer. Activity is at first local and vigorous (for
reasons yet to be understood), and large amounts of dust are thrown
high into the atmosphere. If the amount of dust reaches a critical
quantity, the storm rapidly intensifies, and dust is carried by high
winds to all parts of the planet. In a few days the storm has obscured
the entire surface, and visibility has been reduced to less than 5
percent of normal. The intensification process is evidently short-lived,
as atmospheric clarity begins to return almost immediately, becoming
normal typically in a few weeks.