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Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements
The analysis of the surface energy budget (SEB) yields insights into soil-atmosphere interactions and local climates, while the analysis of the thermal inertia (I) of shallow subsurfaces provides context for evaluating geological features. Mars orbital data have been used to determine thermal inerti...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
BlackWell Publishing Ltd
2014
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4508907/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26213666 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JE004618 |
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author | Martínez, G M Rennó, N Fischer, E Borlina, C S Hallet, B de la Torre Juárez, M Vasavada, A R Ramos, M Hamilton, V Gomez-Elvira, J Haberle, R M |
author_facet | Martínez, G M Rennó, N Fischer, E Borlina, C S Hallet, B de la Torre Juárez, M Vasavada, A R Ramos, M Hamilton, V Gomez-Elvira, J Haberle, R M |
author_sort | Martínez, G M |
collection | PubMed |
description | The analysis of the surface energy budget (SEB) yields insights into soil-atmosphere interactions and local climates, while the analysis of the thermal inertia (I) of shallow subsurfaces provides context for evaluating geological features. Mars orbital data have been used to determine thermal inertias at horizontal scales of ∼10(4) m(2) to ∼10(7) m(2). Here we use measurements of ground temperature and atmospheric variables by Curiosity to calculate thermal inertias at Gale Crater at horizontal scales of ∼10(2) m(2). We analyze three sols representing distinct environmental conditions and soil properties, sol 82 at Rocknest (RCK), sol 112 at Point Lake (PL), and sol 139 at Yellowknife Bay (YKB). Our results indicate that the largest thermal inertia I = 452 J m(−2) K(−1) s(−1/2) (SI units used throughout this article) is found at YKB followed by PL with I = 306 and RCK with I = 295. These values are consistent with the expected thermal inertias for the types of terrain imaged by Mastcam and with previous satellite estimations at Gale Crater. We also calculate the SEB using data from measurements by Curiosity's Rover Environmental Monitoring Station and dust opacity values derived from measurements by Mastcam. The knowledge of the SEB and thermal inertia has the potential to enhance our understanding of the climate, the geology, and the habitability of Mars. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-4508907 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2014 |
publisher | BlackWell Publishing Ltd |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-45089072015-07-24 Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements Martínez, G M Rennó, N Fischer, E Borlina, C S Hallet, B de la Torre Juárez, M Vasavada, A R Ramos, M Hamilton, V Gomez-Elvira, J Haberle, R M J Geophys Res Planets Research Articles The analysis of the surface energy budget (SEB) yields insights into soil-atmosphere interactions and local climates, while the analysis of the thermal inertia (I) of shallow subsurfaces provides context for evaluating geological features. Mars orbital data have been used to determine thermal inertias at horizontal scales of ∼10(4) m(2) to ∼10(7) m(2). Here we use measurements of ground temperature and atmospheric variables by Curiosity to calculate thermal inertias at Gale Crater at horizontal scales of ∼10(2) m(2). We analyze three sols representing distinct environmental conditions and soil properties, sol 82 at Rocknest (RCK), sol 112 at Point Lake (PL), and sol 139 at Yellowknife Bay (YKB). Our results indicate that the largest thermal inertia I = 452 J m(−2) K(−1) s(−1/2) (SI units used throughout this article) is found at YKB followed by PL with I = 306 and RCK with I = 295. These values are consistent with the expected thermal inertias for the types of terrain imaged by Mastcam and with previous satellite estimations at Gale Crater. We also calculate the SEB using data from measurements by Curiosity's Rover Environmental Monitoring Station and dust opacity values derived from measurements by Mastcam. The knowledge of the SEB and thermal inertia has the potential to enhance our understanding of the climate, the geology, and the habitability of Mars. BlackWell Publishing Ltd 2014-08 2014-08-08 /pmc/articles/PMC4508907/ /pubmed/26213666 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JE004618 Text en ©2014. The Authors. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made. |
spellingShingle | Research Articles Martínez, G M Rennó, N Fischer, E Borlina, C S Hallet, B de la Torre Juárez, M Vasavada, A R Ramos, M Hamilton, V Gomez-Elvira, J Haberle, R M Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements |
title | Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements |
title_full | Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements |
title_fullStr | Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements |
title_full_unstemmed | Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements |
title_short | Surface energy budget and thermal inertia at Gale Crater: Calculations from ground-based measurements |
title_sort | surface energy budget and thermal inertia at gale crater: calculations from ground-based measurements |
topic | Research Articles |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4508907/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26213666 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2014JE004618 |
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