Seasonal Vertical Distribution of Neutral and Ionic Species in the Upper Martian Atmosphere During MY 33 and MY 34
摘要
This study presents a seasonal vertical distribution of six neutral (CO2, N2, CO, O, Ar, He) and 12 ionic (CO2+, N2+/CO+, O2+, O+, Ar+, He+, OH+, HO2+, H2O+, H2+, ArH+, H3O+) species for the two Martian years, MY 33 and MY 34 at a global scale. The datasets have been utilized from NGIMS on board NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft. Most neutral species exhibited higher densities during perihelion in both Martian years, along with inter-annual variations. The effects of regional (MY 33) and global (MY 34) dust events on the densities of neutral and ionic species at higher altitudes could also be noted. During the onset of a regional or global dust storm, all the considered ionic species exhibit similar variations (enhancement or depletion), demonstrating the impact of dust activity, except for O+ and O2+ which show enhancement during a regional dust storm (RDE) but depletion during a global dust storm (GDE), and require further investigation.