Orbit-Spin Coupling Accelerations and Global Dust Storm Intermittency on Mars

Abstract:

The occurrence of global dust storms (GDS) in some Mars years and not in others is recognized as an outstanding unsolved problem of atmospheric physics. While GDS exhibit a clear seasonality as to when they occur (centered loosely around Mars’ perihelion), prior efforts to replicate GDS phenomena using general circulation models (GCMs) have not been entirely successful.

A recently developed non-tidal orbit-spin coupling hypothesis predicts that variations in the orbital angular momentum of Mars may give rise to instantaneously small but cumulatively significant changes in the circulation of the Mars atmosphere. Through the use of the MarsWRF GCM, we are able to quantify the time-varying magnitude of this ‘coupling term acceleration’ (CTA) and relate it to changes in the martian atmospheric circulation and subsequently to observations of the presence or absence of a GDS in particular Mars years. The MarsWRF output shows interannual variability that is derived largely from year-to-year differences in the CTA magnitude and direction, which varies significantly with time and exhibits variable phasing with respect to Mars’ annual insolation cycle.

A record of the definitive occurrence or non-occurrence of GDS on Mars dating back to 1924 is used in this study. Conditions favorable for the occurrence of GDS, specifically including a constructive strengthening of the overturning meridional circulation, and an enhancement of near-surface wind speed and surface stress, are reproduced by the GCM in all of the Mars years in which a solstice-season GDS was positively identified. In a majority of the Mars years lacking GDS, CTA during the southern summer season are found to be small or nonexistent, or interfere destructively with the meridional overturning circulation, thereby inhibiting GDS initiation. We continue to explore the relationships between the CTA and the martian dust cycle and the modulation of large-scale circulatory flows on Mars due to orbit-spin coupling.