Grebowsky, JM, Benna, M, Plane, JMC orcid.org/0000-0003-3648-6893 et al. (3 more authors) (2017) Unique, non‐Earthlike, meteoritic ion behavior in upper atmosphere of Mars. Geophysical Research Letters, 44 (7). pp. 3066-3072. ISSN 0094-8276
Abstract
Interplanetary dust particles have long been expected to produce permanent ionospheric metal ion layers at Mars, as on Earth, but the two environments are so different that uncertainty existed as to whether terrestrial-established understanding would apply to Mars. The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission made the first in situ detection of the continuous presence of Na+, Mg+, and Fe+ at Mars and indeed revealed non-Earthlike features/processes. There is no separation of the light Mg+ and the heavy Fe+ with increasing altitude as expected for gravity control. The metal ions are well-mixed with the neutral atmosphere at altitudes where no mixing process is expected. Isolated metal ion layers mimicking Earth's sporadic E layers occur despite the lack of a strong magnetic field as required at Earth. Further, the metal ion distributions are coherent enough to always show atmospheric gravity wave signatures. All features and processes are unique to Mars.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 American Geophysical Union. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemistry (Leeds) > Physical Chemistry (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 21 Mar 2017 17:29 |
Last Modified: | 08 Oct 2020 16:09 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL072635 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | American Geophysical Union |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/2017GL072635 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:113821 |