Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

An Interpretation Of Martian Thermospheric Waves Based On Analysis Of A General Circulation Model, Manoj Joshi, Jeffery Hollingsworth, Robert Haberle, Alison Bridger

Faculty Publications, Meteorology and Climate Science

Planetary‐scale longitudinal variations in density observed by the Mars Global Surveyor accelerometer in the 125 km region can be qualitatively reproduced by the NASA Ames Mars general circulation model in the 80 km altitude region, but only when locations having specific local times are used in the analysis. If the model results are averaged over all local times, the high‐altitude longitudinal variations nearly disappear, leaving only a small stationary wave 1 pattern, consistent with theory and previous modeling studies. This analysis suggests that the observed wavelike structures are a result of sampling tidal modes at a limited range of local …