Search Publications
Revised CRISM spectral parameters and summary products based on the currently detected mineral diversity on Mars
Viviano-Beck, Christina E.; Seelos, Frank P.; Murchie, Scott L. +8 more
The investigation of hyperspectral data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) and the Observatoire pour la Minéralogie, L'Eau, les Glaces et l'Activitié (OMEGA) on Mars Express has revealed an increasingly diverse suite of minerals present on the Martian surface. A revised set of 60 spect…
Global climate modeling of the Martian water cycle with improved microphysics and radiatively active water ice clouds
Forget, F.; Montmessin, F.; Millour, E. +4 more
Water ice clouds play a key role in the radiative transfer of the Martian atmosphere, impacting its thermal structure, its circulation, and, in turn, the water cycle. Recent studies including the radiative effects of clouds in global climate models (GCMs) have found that the corresponding feedbacks amplify the model defaults. In particular, it pre…
The origin and evolution of the Peace Vallis fan system that drains to the Curiosity landing area, Gale Crater, Mars
Williams, Rebecca M. E.; Palucis, Marisa C.; Calef, Fred +7 more
The landing site for the Curiosity rover is located at the distal end of the Peace Vallis fan in Gale Crater. Peace Vallis fan covers 80 km2 and is fed by a 730 km2 catchment, which drains an upland plains area through a 15 km wide gap in the crater rim. Valley incision into accumulated debris delivered sediment through a rel…
Atmosphere/mantle coupling and feedbacks on Venus
Gillmann, Cedric; Tackley, Paul
We investigate the coupled evolution of the atmosphere and mantle on Venus. Here we focus on mechanisms that deplete or replenish the atmosphere: atmospheric escape to space and volcanic degassing of the mantle. These processes are linked to obtain a coupled model of mantle convection and atmospheric evolution, including feedback of the atmosphere…
Geology and composition of the Orientale Basin impact melt sheet
Spudis, Paul D.; Martin, Dayl J. P.; Kramer, Georgiana
Orientale Basin is one of the largest (930 km diameter) and youngest (~3.8 Ga) impact craters on the Moon. As the basin is only partly flooded by mare lava, its floor materials expose a major portion of the basin impact melt sheet, which some previous work has suggested might have undergone igneous differentiation. To test this idea, we remapped t…
Three-dimensional Martian ionosphere model: II. Effect of transport processes due to pressure gradients
Forget, F.; Chaufray, J. -Y.; Leblanc, F. +7 more
To study the transport of the ionospheric plasma on Mars, we have included a 3-D multifluid dynamical core in a Martian general circulation model. Vertical transport modifies the ion density above ~160 km on the dayside, especially the ions produced at high altitudes like O+, N+, and C+. Near the exobase, the daysi…
SHARAD soundings and surface roughness at past, present, and proposed landing sites on Mars: Reflections at Phoenix may be attributable to deep ground ice
Mellon, Michael T.; Putzig, Nathaniel E.; Phillips, Roger J. +3 more
We use the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to search for subsurface interfaces and characterize surface roughness at the landing sites of Viking Landers 1 and 2, Mars Pathfinder, the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the Phoenix Mars lander, the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, and three other sites …
Water in the Martian regolith from OMEGA/Mars Express
Bibring, Jean-Pierre; Langevin, Yves; Gondet, Brigitte +5 more
Here we discuss one of the current reservoirs of water on Mars, the regolith and rocks exposed at the surface. This reservoir is characterized by the presence of H2O- and OH-bearing phases that produce a broad absorption at a wavelength of ~3 µm in near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectra. This absorption is present in every ice-free spe…
The Venus nighttime atmosphere as observed by the VIRTIS-M instrument. Average fields from the complete infrared data set
Drossart, P.; Piccioni, G.; Lebonnois, S. +7 more
We present and discuss here the average fields of the Venus atmosphere derived from the nighttime observations in the 1960-2350 cm-1 spectral range by the VIRTIS-M instrument on board the Venus Express satellite. These fields include: (a) the air temperatures in the 1-100 mbar pressure range (~85-65 km above the surface), (b) the altitu…
Surface albedo spectral properties of geologically interesting areas on Titan
Le Mouélic, S.; Rodriguez, S.; Sotin, C. +13 more
We investigate the nature and possible formation processes of three areas on Titan's surface which have been suggested as geologically interesting: Hotei Regio, Tui Regio, and Sotra Patera. We also reanalyze the spectral characteristics of the Huygens Landing Site. We apply a statistical Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a radiative transfer …