Two major dust storms, one Mars year apart: Comparison from Viking data

Abstract

The Viking Mars Landers have been on the Mars surface for over two Mars years. During the first year two major, probably global, dust storms occurred. The first was unusually early compared to most previous Earth‐based observations. A major storm occurred during the second year, almost precisely one year after the first storm of the first year. Meteorological data show roughly similar atmospheric behavior for the two early storms. Of particular note is the increase in amplitude of pressure oscillations (probably of baroclinic origin) and concurrent increases in wind speed during the build‐up phase of all three storms. The generation of these waves appears to be a natural consequence of seasonal effects not associated with the dust storms. It is suggested that ‘baroclinic’ waves, should they exist in the southern hemisphere during the time of dust storm generation, could be an important factor in growth and development of the dust storms.