Transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on Mars
International audience Since the seasonal and spatial distribution of ozone on Mars was detected1 by the ultraviolet spectrometer onboard the spacecraft Mariner 7, our understanding has evolved considerably thanks to parallel efforts in observations and modelling2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. At low-to-mid latit...
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ftsorbonneuniv:oai:HAL:hal-00870136v1 2023-06-11T04:16:10+02:00 Transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on Mars Montmessin, Franck Lefèvre, Franck PLANETO - LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) 2013 https://hal.science/hal-00870136 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1957 en eng HAL CCSD Nature Publishing Group info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/ngeo1957 hal-00870136 https://hal.science/hal-00870136 doi:10.1038/ngeo1957 ISSN: 1752-0894 Nature Geoscience https://hal.science/hal-00870136 Nature Geoscience, 2013, 6 (11), pp.930-933. ⟨10.1038/ngeo1957⟩ [SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2013 ftsorbonneuniv https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1957 2023-05-29T16:09:37Z International audience Since the seasonal and spatial distribution of ozone on Mars was detected1 by the ultraviolet spectrometer onboard the spacecraft Mariner 7, our understanding has evolved considerably thanks to parallel efforts in observations and modelling2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. At low-to-mid latitudes, martian ozone is distributed vertically in two main layers, a near-surface layer and a layer at an altitude between 30 and 60 km (ref. 5). Here we report evidence from the SPICAM UV spectrometer onboard the Mars Express orbiter for the existence of a previously overlooked ozone layer that emerges in the southern polar night at 40-60 km in altitude, with no counterpart observed at the north pole. Comparisons with global climate simulations for Mars indicate that this layer forms as a result of the large-scale transport of oxygen-rich air from sunlit latitudes to the poles, where the oxygen atoms recombine to form ozone during the polar night. However, transport-driven ozone formation is counteracted in our simulations by the destruction of ozone by reactions with hydrogen radicals, whose concentrations vary seasonally on Mars, reflecting seasonal variations of water vapour. We conclude that the observed dichotomy between the ozone layers of the two poles, with a significantly richer layer in the southern hemisphere, can be explained by the interplay of these mechanisms. Article in Journal/Newspaper polar night HAL Sorbonne Université North Pole Nature Geoscience 6 11 930 933 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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HAL Sorbonne Université |
op_collection_id |
ftsorbonneuniv |
language |
English |
topic |
[SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] |
spellingShingle |
[SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] Montmessin, Franck Lefèvre, Franck Transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on Mars |
topic_facet |
[SDU.ASTR.EP]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] [PHYS.ASTR.EP]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Earth and Planetary Astrophysics [astro-ph.EP] |
description |
International audience Since the seasonal and spatial distribution of ozone on Mars was detected1 by the ultraviolet spectrometer onboard the spacecraft Mariner 7, our understanding has evolved considerably thanks to parallel efforts in observations and modelling2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. At low-to-mid latitudes, martian ozone is distributed vertically in two main layers, a near-surface layer and a layer at an altitude between 30 and 60 km (ref. 5). Here we report evidence from the SPICAM UV spectrometer onboard the Mars Express orbiter for the existence of a previously overlooked ozone layer that emerges in the southern polar night at 40-60 km in altitude, with no counterpart observed at the north pole. Comparisons with global climate simulations for Mars indicate that this layer forms as a result of the large-scale transport of oxygen-rich air from sunlit latitudes to the poles, where the oxygen atoms recombine to form ozone during the polar night. However, transport-driven ozone formation is counteracted in our simulations by the destruction of ozone by reactions with hydrogen radicals, whose concentrations vary seasonally on Mars, reflecting seasonal variations of water vapour. We conclude that the observed dichotomy between the ozone layers of the two poles, with a significantly richer layer in the southern hemisphere, can be explained by the interplay of these mechanisms. |
author2 |
PLANETO - LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Montmessin, Franck Lefèvre, Franck |
author_facet |
Montmessin, Franck Lefèvre, Franck |
author_sort |
Montmessin, Franck |
title |
Transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on Mars |
title_short |
Transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on Mars |
title_full |
Transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on Mars |
title_fullStr |
Transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on Mars |
title_full_unstemmed |
Transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on Mars |
title_sort |
transport-driven formation of a polar ozone layer on mars |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://hal.science/hal-00870136 https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1957 |
geographic |
North Pole |
geographic_facet |
North Pole |
genre |
polar night |
genre_facet |
polar night |
op_source |
ISSN: 1752-0894 Nature Geoscience https://hal.science/hal-00870136 Nature Geoscience, 2013, 6 (11), pp.930-933. ⟨10.1038/ngeo1957⟩ |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1038/ngeo1957 hal-00870136 https://hal.science/hal-00870136 doi:10.1038/ngeo1957 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1957 |
container_title |
Nature Geoscience |
container_volume |
6 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
930 |
op_container_end_page |
933 |
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1768373668983865344 |