Planet-Wide Ozone Destruction in the Middle Atmosphere on Mars During Global Dust Storm

Frank Daerden (1) , L. Neary (1) , M. J. Wolff (2) , R. T. Clancy (2) , Franck Lefèvre (3) , J. A. Whiteway (4) , S. Viscardy (1) , A. Piccialli (1) , Y. Willame (1) , C. Depiesse (1) , S. Aoki (5) , I. R. Thomas (1) , B. Ristic (1) , J. Erwin (1) , Jean-Claude Gérard (6) , B. J. Sandor (2) , A. Khayat (7) , M. D. Smith (7) , J. P. Mason (8) , M. R. Patel (8) , G. L. Villanueva (7) , G. Liuzzi (7) , G. Bellucci (9) , José-Juan López-Moreno (10) , A. C. Vandaele (1)

1 BIRA-IASB - Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy / Institut d'Aéronomie Spatiale de Belgique
2 SSI - Space Science Institute [Boulder]
3 PLANETO - LATMOS
4 CRESS - Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science [Toronto]
5 ISAS - Institute of Space and Astronautical Science
6 LPAP - Laboratoire de Physique Atmosphérique et Planétaire
7 GSFC - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
8 School of Physical Sciences [Milton Keynes]
9 IAPS - Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali - INAF
10 IAA - Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía

The Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD)/UV-visible (UVIS) spectrometer on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter provided observations of ozone (O3) and water vapor in the global dust storm of 2018. Here we show in detail, using advanced data filtering and chemical modeling, how Martian O3 in the middle atmosphere was destroyed during the dust storm. In data taken exactly 1 year later when no dust storm occurred, the normal situation had been reestablished. The model simulates how water vapor is transported to high altitudes and latitudes in the storm, where it photolyzes to form odd hydrogen species that catalyze O3. O3 destruction is simulated at all latitudes and up to 100 km, except near the surface where it increases. The simulations also predict a strong increase in the photochemical production of atomic hydrogen in the middle atmosphere, consistent with the enhanced hydrogen escape observed in the upper atmosphere during global dust storms.

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]

Frank Daerden, L. Neary, M. J. Wolff, R. T. Clancy, Franck Lefèvre, et al.. Planet-Wide Ozone Destruction in the Middle Atmosphere on Mars During Global Dust Storm. Geophysical Research Letters, 2022, 49 (11), pp.e2022GL098821. ⟨10.1029/2022GL098821⟩. ⟨insu-03686695⟩