The depth of the convective boundary layer on Mars

Abstract

We are using observations obtained with Mars Express to explore the structure and dynamics of the martian lower atmosphere. We consider a series of radio occultation experiments conducted in May–August 2004, when the season on Mars was midspring of the northern hemisphere. The measurements are widely distributed in latitude and longitude, but the local time remained within a narrow range, 17.0–17.2 h. Most of the atmospheric profiles retrieved from these data contain a distinct, well-mixed convective boundary layer (CBL). We have accurately determined the depth of the CBL and its spatial variations at fixed local time through analysis of these profiles. The CBL extends to a height of 3–10 km above the surface at the season and locations of these measurements. Its depth at fixed local time is clearly correlated with variations in surface elevation on planetary scales, with a weaker dependence on spatial variations in surface temperature. In general, the CBL is deep (8–10 km) where the surface elevation is high, as in Tharsis Montes and Syrtis Major, and shallow (4–6 km) where the surface elevation is low, as in Amazonis and Utopia. This variability results from the combined effects of conditions near the surface and in the atmosphere above the CBL. Convection arises from solar heating of the ground, and the impact of this heat source on thermal structure is largest where the surface pressure and atmospheric density are smallest, at high surface elevations. The vertical extent of the CBL is in turn constrained by the static stability of the overlying atmosphere. These results greatly reduce the long-standing uncertainty concerning the depth of the CBL.