Publication Date:
2011-08-18
Description:
Data from the 15 micron band of CO2 readings with the two Viking IR thermal mappers are discussed. Contrasts were observed to be strong between clear and dusty conditions, with a latitudinal gradient and a diurnal amplitude variation in the winter southern hemisphere. Consistency was found in zonal mean temperatures in the absence of dust, with a peak temperature of 180 K at the poles and a diurnal amplitude of 15 K at the equator. Large temperature increases occur in dusty conditions, with global dust storms being present in the northern, but not southern, hemisphere. Estimations of the surface and atmospheric temperatures are calculated in order to derive optical depths from the IR measurements of atmospheric opacity. The optical depth around the whole planet is found to be relatively uniform at any given moment. Finally, the diurnal behavior of the brightness temperature is outlined for 1.4 Mars years.
Keywords:
LUNAR AND PLANETARY EXPLORATION
Type:
Advances in Space Research; 2; 2, 19; 1982
Format:
text
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