MARTIAN DUST STORMS AND GRAVITY WAVES: DISENTANGLING WATER TRANSPORT TO THE UPPER ATMOSPHERE.
D. S. Shaposhnikov, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia (shaposhnikov@phystech.edu),
A. S. Medvedev, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen, Germany, A. V. Rodin, Moscow Institute
of Physics and Technology, Space Research Institute, Moscow, Russia, E. Yiğit, George Mason University, Fairfax,
VA, USA, P. Hartogh, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, Göttingen, Germany.

Abstract

Figures

Simulations with the Max Planck Institute Martian general circulation model for Martian years 28 and 34 reveal
details of the water “pump" mechanism and the role of
gravity wave (GW) forcing. Water is advected to the upper atmosphere mainly by upward branches of the meridional circulation: in low latitudes during equinoxes and
over the south pole during solstices. Molecular diffusion
plays little role in water transport in the middle atmosphere and across the mesopause. GWs modulate the circulation and temperature during global dust storms, thus
changing the timing and intensity of the transport. At
equinoxes, they facilitate water accumulation in the polar warming regions in the middle atmosphere followed
by stronger upwelling over the equator. As equinoctial
storms decay, GWs tend to accelerate the reduction of
water in the thermosphere. GWs delay the onset of the
transport during solstitial storms and change the globally averaged amount of water in the upper atmosphere
by 10-25% (Figure 1).
The presented MGCM simulations and comparison
with ACS solidify the concept of the water “pump"
mechanism of transporting vapor directly to the upper
atmosphere. Model simulations also provide finer details and predictions, which can be later verified with
observations, once more data become available.
Overall, our results highlight the wide-reaching implications of the GW-induced large-scale circulation and
its potential role in modulating the distribution of water
on Mars (Shaposhnikov et al., 2022).

Figure 1: (a, b) Latitude-seasonal cross-sections of the zonally averaged vertical water vapor flux at 80 km (shaded) simulated with gravity waves (GW) included and the IR optical
dust opacity (black contours). (c, d) Altitude-seasonal crosssections of the globally averaged differences of water vapor
(shaded) and temperature (contours) between the simulations
with and without GWs. Left (a, c) and right (b, d) columns
are for the MY34 and MY28 dust scenarios, correspondingly.

Abbreviations
• ACS MIR – Atmospheric Chemistry Suite middle-

infrared echelle spectrometer onboard ExoMars
Trace Gas Orbiter
• GW – gravity wave
• IKI – Space Research Institute, Moscow, Russia

Acknowledgments

• MCS–MRO – Mars Climate Sounder instrument

The data supporting the MPI–MGCM simulations can be
found at the repository (Shaposhnikov et al., 2021). The
most recent model output can be accessed at https://
mars.mipt.ru. The ACS MIR temperature and water
data are available at the articles by Fedorova et al. (2020)
and Belyaev et al. (2021), correspondingly. The MCS–
MRO data are available at MCS Data Archive (2021).
The authors thank Denis Belyaev of IKI for assistance with the observational data and helpful discussions. The work was partially supported by the Russian
Science Foundation grant 20-72-00110.

• MPI–MGCM – Max Planck Institute Martian gen-

onboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
eral circulation model
• MY – Martian year

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