Article Dans Une Revue Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets Année : 2025

Diurnal and Seasonal Variations of Gravity Waves in the Lower Atmosphere of Mars as Observed by InSight

Résumé

We investigate Gravity Waves (GWs) in the lower atmosphere of Mars based on pressure timeseries acquired by the InSight lander. We compile a climatology showing that most GW activity detected at the InSight landing site takes place after the sunrise and sunset; they are almost absent during the aphelion season, and more prominent around the equinoxes, with variations during dust events and interannual variations. We find GWs with coherent phases in different sols, and a previously unnoticed coincidence of GW activity with those moments in which the diurnal cycle (of tidal origin) exhibits the fastest increases in absolute pressure. We explore the possibility that some of these GWs might actually be high-order harmonics of thermal tides transiently interfering constructively to produce relevant meteorological patterns, and discuss other interpretations based on wind patterns. The so-called Terminator Waves observed on Earth might also explain some of our observations. Plain Language Summary Gravity waves are oscillations in a fluid, observed for example, in the surface of water when it is perturbed. These waves are common in planetary atmospheres and play a key role in their dynamics; however, they are difficult to reproduce in computer models. Based on the comprehensive observations of pressure acquired by the InSight lander, we analyze the occurrence of these waves on Mars at different seasons and times of the day in unprecedented detail. We find that these waves are much more common after the sunrise and the sunset. Also, they tend to repeat synchronously in consecutive days, and they seem to happen at those moments when the absolute atmospheric pressure is increasing. Interpreting these observations is challenging, and we propose various plausible explanations.
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hal-04926685 , version 1 (03-02-2025)

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Jorge Hernández‐bernal, A. Spiga, Audrey Chatain, J. Pla‐garcia, D. Banfield. Diurnal and Seasonal Variations of Gravity Waves in the Lower Atmosphere of Mars as Observed by InSight. Journal of Geophysical Research. Planets, 2025, 130 (2), pp.e2024JE008746. ⟨10.1029/2024je008746⟩. ⟨hal-04926685⟩
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