Search Publications
Mars atmospheric chemistry simulations with the GEM-Mars general circulation model
Daerden, F.; Neary, L.; Viscardy, S. +5 more
General Circulation Models with interactive physical and chemistry processes are the state-of-the-art tools for an integrated view and understanding of the Martian atmosphere and climate system. The GEM-Mars model currently includes 16 tracers for chemical composition and applies a fully online, interactive calculation of the photo- and gas phase …
Photochemistry of water in the martian thermosphere and its effect on hydrogen escape
Krasnopolsky, Vladimir A.
Recent SPICAM IR solar occultations reveal significant abundances of water vapor up to ≈80 km near Mars perihelion. These abundances are stimulated by dust that heats the atmosphere and precludes condensation of water. This phenomenon correlates with detections of high escape of hydrogen near perihelion using the H Lyman-alpha in the SPICAM UV and…
Observational evidence for a dry dust-wind origin of Mars seasonal dark flows
Vincendon, Mathieu; Carter, John; Stcherbinine, Aurélien +1 more
Seasonal flows on warm slopes, or recurring slope lineae ("RSL"), have been presented as strong evidence for currently flowing water on Mars. This assumption was supported by a correlation between activity and warm temperatures, and by the spectral identification of hydrated salts. Here we first demonstrate that salts spectral identification is no…
Hypotheses for the origin of the Hypanis fan-shaped deposit at the edge of the Chryse escarpment, Mars: Is it a delta?
Sefton-Nash, Elliot; Bell, James F., III; Adler, Jacob B. +4 more
We investigated the origin of the fan-shaped deposit at the end of Hypanis Valles that has previously been proposed as an ExoMars, Mars 2020, and human mission candidate landing site, and found evidence that the landform is an ancient delta. Previous work suggests that the deposit originated from a time of fluvial activity both distinct from and p…
Lyman-α emission in the Martian proton aurora: Line profile and role of horizontal induced magnetic field
Ritter, B.; Hubert, B.; Shematovich, V. I. +2 more
Enhancements of the dayside Lyman-α emission by as much as ∼50% have been observed between 120 and 130 km in the lower Martian thermosphere from the Mars Express and MAVEN satellites, usually following solar events such as coronal mass ejections and corotating interaction regions. They have been assumed to be optical signatures of proton aurora re…
Fluids mobilization in Arabia Terra, Mars: Depth of pressurized reservoir from mounds self-similar clustering
Massironi, Matteo; Cremonese, Gabriele; Pondrelli, Monica +4 more
Arabia Terra is a region of Mars where signs of past-water occurrence are recorded in several landforms. Broad and local scale geomorphological, compositional and hydrological analyses point towards pervasive fluid circulation through time. In this work we focus on mound fields located in the interior of three casters larger than 40 km (Firsoff, K…
The M3 project: 2 - Global distributions of mafic mineral abundances on Mars
Bibring, J. -P.; Gondet, B.; Poulet, F. +1 more
A radiative transfer model was used to reproduce several millions of OMEGA (Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, l'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activité) spectra representative of igneous terrains of Mars. This task provided the modal composition and grain sizes at a planetary scale. The lithology can be summarized in five mineral maps at km-scale. We found …
Seasonal formation rates of martian slope streaks
Jaumann, R.; Hiesinger, H.; Kreslavsky, M. +3 more
Slope streaks are gravity-driven dark or light-toned features that form throughout the martian year in high-albedo and low-thermal inertia equatorial regions on Mars. These distinctive features have never been observed in a terrestrial environment although some analogs have been proposed. Based on diverse orbital observations, a number of mechanis…
The volume of water required to carve the martian valley networks: Improved constraints using updated methods
Head, James W.; Rosenberg, Eliott N.; Palumbo, Ashley M. +2 more
The martian valley networks are a key piece of evidence for the presence of liquid water on early Mars, and understanding their formation conditions can provide valuable insight into the nature of the early climate. Previous studies have used various methods to estimate the volume of water required to carve the valley networks, with results rangin…
Present-day development of gully-channel sinuosity by carbon dioxide gas supported flows on Mars
Massé, Marion; Conway, Susan J.; Vincendon, Mathieu +7 more
Martian gullies have been widely studied, but their formation mechanism is still under debate. Their channels generally trend straight downslope, but some display sinuosity. Seasonally active gullies are common on sand dunes and their channels have been reported to develop sinuosity. Here, we perform a detailed analysis of a gully on a dune within…