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Water vapor in the middle atmosphere of Mars during the 2007 global dust storm
Montmessin, Franck; Bertaux, Jean-Loup; Korablev, Oleg +4 more
Recent observations of the Martian hydrogen corona in the UV H Ly-alpha emission by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) (Clarke et al., 2014) and the SPICAM UV spectrometer on Mars Express (Chaffin et al., 2014) reported its rapid change by an order of magnitude over a short few months period in 2007 (MY28), which is inconsistent with the existing mo…
Equatorial locations of water on Mars: Improved resolution maps based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data
Elphic, Richard C.; Massey, Richard J.; Maurice, Sylvestre +4 more
We present a map of the near subsurface hydrogen distribution on Mars, based on epithermal neutron data from the Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer. The map's spatial resolution is approximately improved two-fold via a new form of the pixon image reconstruction technique. We discover hydrogen-rich mineralogy far from the poles, including ∼10 wt.% w…
The GEM-Mars general circulation model for Mars: Description and evaluation
Daerden, F.; Neary, L.
GEM-Mars is a gridpoint-based three-dimensional general circulation model (GCM) of the Mars atmosphere extending from the surface to approximately 150 km based on the GEM (Global Environmental Multiscale) model, part of the operational weather forecasting and data assimilation system for Canada. After the initial modification for Mars, the model h…
Atmospheric structure and helium abundance on Saturn from Cassini/UVIS and CIRS observations
Guerlet, S.; Koskinen, T. T.
We combine measurements from stellar occultations observed by the Cassini Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) and limb scans observed by the Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) to create empirical atmospheric structure models for Saturn corresponding to the locations probed by the occultations. The results cover multiple locations at low to…
Study of Titan's fall southern stratospheric polar cloud composition with Cassini/CIRS: Detection of benzene ice
de Kok, R.; Flasar, F. M.; Bézard, B. +5 more
We report the detection of a spectral signature observed at 682 cm-1 by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) in nadir and limb geometry observations of Titan's southern stratospheric polar region in the middle of southern fall, while stratospheric temperatures are the coldest since the beginning of the Cassini mission. In …
Bathymetry and composition of Titan's Ontario Lacus derived from Monte Carlo-based waveform inversion of Cassini RADAR altimetry data
Lorenz, R. D.; Lunine, J. I.; Hayes, A. G. +8 more
Recently, the Cassini RADAR was used to sound hydrocarbon lakes and seas on Saturn's moon Titan. Since the initial discovery of echoes from the seabed of Ligeia Mare, the second largest liquid body on Titan, a dedicated radar processing chain has been developed to retrieve liquid depth and microwave absorptivity information from RADAR altimetry of…
New polarimetric and spectroscopic evidence of anomalous enrichment in spinel-bearing calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions among L-type asteroids
Surdej, J.; Tanga, P.; Carry, B. +14 more
Asteroids can be classified into several groups based on their spectral reflectance. Among these groups, the one belonging to the L-class in the taxonomic classification based on visible and near-infrared spectra exhibit several peculiar properties. First, their near-infrared spectrum is characterized by a strong absorption band interpreted as the…
Europa's ice-related atmosphere: The sputter contribution
Wurz, P.; Vorburger, A.
Europa, Jupiter's innermost icy satellite, is embedded well within Jupiter's magnetospheric plasma, an intense flux of ions and electrons that approximately co-rotate with Jupiter. The plasma can be thought of as consisting of two populations: The cold, thermal plasma containing charged particles with energies ranging from 1 eV to 1 keV, and the h…
Solar Energetic Particles (SEP) and Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) as tracers of solar wind conditions near Saturn: Event lists and applications
Krupp, N.; Thomsen, M. F.; Jackman, C. M. +10 more
The lack of an upstream solar wind monitor poses a major challenge to any study that investigates the influence of the solar wind on the configuration and the dynamics of Saturn's magnetosphere. Here we show how Cassini MIMI/LEMMS observations of Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) and Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) transients, that are both linked to energ…
Icy Saturnian satellites: Disk-integrated UV-IR characteristics and links to exogenic processes
Hendrix, Amanda R.; Filacchione, Gianrico; Schenk, Paul +2 more
Combined Cassini observations obtained at similar observing geometries in the ultraviolet through infrared spectral range, along with additional ultraviolet (UV) data from Hubble Space Telescope where available, are used to study system-wide trends in spectral albedos of the inner icy Saturnian satellites (Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Rhea). W…