The reflectivity of Mars at 1064 nm: Derivation from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data and application to climatology and meteorology

Abstract

The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) on board Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) made > 108 measurements of the reflectivity of Mars at 1064 nm (R1064) by both active sounding and passive radiometry. Past studies of R1064 neglected the effects of atmospheric opacity and viewing geometry on both active and passive measurements and also identified a potential calibration issue with passive radiometry. Therefore, as yet, there exists no acceptable reference R1064 to derive a column opacity product for atmospheric studies and planning future orbital lidar observations. Here, such a reference R1064 is derived by seeking R1064M,N: a Minnaert-corrected normal albedo under clear conditions and assuming minimal phase angle dependence. Over darker surfaces, R1064M,N and the absolute level of atmospheric opacity were estimated from active sounding. Over all surfaces, the opacity derived from active sounding was used to exclude passive radiometry measurements made under opaque conditions and estimate R1064M,N. These latter estimates then were re-calibrated by comparison with RM, N derived from Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations over areas of approximately uniform reflectivity. Estimates of R1064M,N from re-calibrated passive radiometry typically agree with HST observations within 10%. The resulting R1064M,N is then used to derive and quantify the uncertainties of a column opacity product, which can be applied to meteorological and climatological studies of Mars, particularly to detect and measure mesoscale cloud/aerosol structures.