American scientists have discovered that seasonal energy imbalance in the amount of solar energy absorbed and released by Mars is the main cause of dust storms on Mars.
This discovery could play an important role in understanding the climate and atmosphere of a neighboring planet.
Based on observations made by a number of NASA’s missions to Mars, researchers have compiled a global picture of the Martian climate.
Data from the Mars Global Surveyor, Curiosity Rover and InSight have revealed strong seasonal and hypnotic fluctuations in solar energy received by Mars, including periods of global dust storms.
It turns out that between seasons on Mars there is a strong energy imbalance of 15.3%, which is much more than on Earth (0.4%) or Titan (2.9%). He also found that during the strong dust storm of 2001, the solar energy absorbed by Mars decreased by 22% during the day, but increased by 29% at night.
“One of the most interesting findings of the study is that the excess energy that Mars receives from the Sun may be the most important mechanism for the occurrence of dust storms on the planet,” said lead author Elaine Creasy of the University of Houston in Texas.
In a press release issued by the Consortium of Universities, the Space Research Consortium. “Our results, which highlight the link between dust storms on Mars and seasonal energy imbalances, may provide new insights into the occurrence of dust storms on this planet, and current numerical models of the Martian climate should be seriously reviewed,” co-author Hermann said.
The results of this study, together with new numerical models, may improve the current understanding of the Martian climate and atmospheric cycle, which is very important for future Mars missions, including manned ones, and may also point to some causes of Earth’s climate problems.
