HR: 08:45h
AN: P31D-04 [Abstracts]
TI: Great Dust Storms on Mars: What Have We Learned?
AU: * Zurek, R W
EM: Richard.W.Zurek@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
California Institute of Technology, MS 264-535
4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099,
AB:
Great dust storms on Mars are dramatic episodes of dust-raising and widespread transport that may have
climatic effects on intra-seasonal, inter-annual, and ultimately much longer (e.g., obliquity) timescales. This
paper will address to what extent the unprecedented observational coverage of Mars in recent times from orbiting
spacecraft has changed our understanding of regional dust storms and hazes. During this period two nearly
global dust storm events have occurred, in 2001 and in 2007; these are considered within the historical context of
such storms with emphasis on the frequency of occurrence and on the mechanisms involved in their onset and
decay.
DE: 5405 Atmospheres (0343, 1060)
DE: 5445 Meteorology (3346)
DE: 6225 Mars
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting