Meteorología mesoescalar en Marte

Zusammenfassung

The revitalizing of Mars exploration in the early 1990s combined with the maturation of terrestrial mesoscale modeling codes provided fertile ground for the application of suitably modified models to the atmosphere of Mars. The use of mesoscale models, particular for Mars, has become an integral part of interpreting the data returned from missions and providing constraints and bounds on environmental conditions in support of mission planning and operations. Mesoscale models are ideal tools for greatly minimize risk during entry, descent, and landing phases. Slope winds, dust injection processes and atmospheric volatiles transport are the main Mars mesoscale circulations that affect the atmospheric structure and dynamics. In this article is also included as an example the meteorological simulation of Gale Crater environment, in which the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover Curiosity landed in August 2012, with the spanish weather station Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) aboard. The observational data record provides sufficient means against which to evaluate mesoscale model. Meteorological interpretations show a dynamically complex environment. Local, regional and synoptic scales all interact in nonlinear ways to produce the observed weather. Two different atmospheric periods could be distinguished inside the crater: semi-isolated period during most of the martian year (Ls 0, 90 and 180) and mixing period during the summer (Ls 270). During the semi-isolated period, warm air from south overrides the crater creating a very stable boundary layer. Crater air mass is generally much colder than outside the crater forcing downslope flows, thermodynamically driven, to not scour crater and hence decreasing mixing level in this period. Ls 270 was shown to be an anomalous season when air within and outside the crater was well mixed by strong, flushing, northerly flow and large amplitude breaking mountain waves. At other seasons, the air in the crater was more isolated form the surrounding environment.