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Andrews DJ, Barabash S, Edberg NJT, Gurnett DA, Hall BES, Holmström M, Lester M, Morgan DD, Opgenoorth HJ, Ramstad R, Sanchez-Cano B, Way M, Witasse O. Plasma observations during the Mars atmospheric "plume" event of March-April 2012. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. SPACE PHYSICS 2016; 121:3139-3154. [PMID: 29552437 PMCID: PMC5854877 DOI: 10.1002/2015ja022023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We present initial analysis and conclusions from plasma observations made during the reported "Mars plume event" of March - April 2012. During this period, multiple independent amateur observers detected a localized, high-altitude "plume" over the Martian dawn terminator [Sanchez-Lavega et al., Nature, 2015, doi:10.1038/nature14162], the cause of which remains to be explained. The estimated brightness of the plume exceeds that expected for auroral emissions, and its projected altitude greatly exceeds that at which clouds are expected to form. We report on in-situ measurements of ionospheric plasma density and solar wind parameters throughout this interval made by Mars Express, obtained over the same surface region, but at the opposing terminator. Measurements in the ionosphere at the corresponding location frequently show a disturbed structure, though this is not atypical for such regions with intense crustal magnetic fields. We tentatively conclude that the formation and/or transport of this plume to the altitudes where it was observed could be due in part to the result of a large interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) encountering the Martian system. Interestingly, we note that the only similar plume detection in May 1997 may also have been associated with a large ICME impact at Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J Andrews
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Uppsala), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - S Barabash
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Kiruna), Kiruna, Sweden
| | - N J T Edberg
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Uppsala), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - D A Gurnett
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - B E S Hall
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - M Holmström
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Kiruna), Kiruna, Sweden
| | - M Lester
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - D D Morgan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - H J Opgenoorth
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Uppsala), Uppsala, Sweden
| | - R Ramstad
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (Kiruna), Kiruna, Sweden
| | - B Sanchez-Cano
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - M Way
- NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, 2880 Broadway, New York, New York, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, SE-751 20, Uppsala, Sweden
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3
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Jakosky BM, Grebowsky JM, Luhmann JG, Connerney J, Eparvier F, Ergun R, Halekas J, Larson D, Mahaffy P, McFadden J, Mitchell DF, Schneider N, Zurek R, Bougher S, Brain D, Ma YJ, Mazelle C, Andersson L, Andrews D, Baird D, Baker D, Bell JM, Benna M, Chaffin M, Chamberlin P, Chaufray YY, Clarke J, Collinson G, Combi M, Crary F, Cravens T, Crismani M, Curry S, Curtis D, Deighan J, Delory G, Dewey R, DiBraccio G, Dong C, Dong Y, Dunn P, Elrod M, England S, Eriksson A, Espley J, Evans S, Fang X, Fillingim M, Fortier K, Fowler CM, Fox J, Gröller H, Guzewich S, Hara T, Harada Y, Holsclaw G, Jain SK, Jolitz R, Leblanc F, Lee CO, Lee Y, Lefevre F, Lillis R, Livi R, Lo D, Mayyasi M, McClintock W, McEnulty T, Modolo R, Montmessin F, Morooka M, Nagy A, Olsen K, Peterson W, Rahmati A, Ruhunusiri S, Russell CT, Sakai S, Sauvaud JA, Seki K, Steckiewicz M, Stevens M, Stewart AIF, Stiepen A, Stone S, Tenishev V, Thiemann E, Tolson R, Toublanc D, Vogt M, Weber T, Withers P, Woods T, Yelle R. MAVEN observations of the response of Mars to an interplanetary coronal mass ejection. Science 2015; 350:aad0210. [PMID: 26542576 DOI: 10.1126/science.aad0210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Coupling between the lower and upper atmosphere, combined with loss of gas from the upper atmosphere to space, likely contributed to the thin, cold, dry atmosphere of modern Mars. To help understand ongoing ion loss to space, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft made comprehensive measurements of the Mars upper atmosphere, ionosphere, and interactions with the Sun and solar wind during an interplanetary coronal mass ejection impact in March 2015. Responses include changes in the bow shock and magnetosheath, formation of widespread diffuse aurora, and enhancement of pick-up ions. Observations and models both show an enhancement in escape rate of ions to space during the event. Ion loss during solar events early in Mars history may have been a major contributor to the long-term evolution of the Mars atmosphere.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - J M Grebowsky
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J G Luhmann
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J Connerney
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - F Eparvier
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - R Ergun
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - J Halekas
- University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - D Larson
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - P Mahaffy
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - J McFadden
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D F Mitchell
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | | | - R Zurek
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
| | - S Bougher
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - D Brain
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Y J Ma
- University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - C Mazelle
- CNRS-Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France. University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | | | - D Andrews
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - D Baird
- NASA/Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, USA
| | - D Baker
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - J M Bell
- National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, VA, USA
| | - M Benna
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - M Chaffin
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - P Chamberlin
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - Y-Y Chaufray
- Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux et observations spatiales (LATMOS)-CNRS, Paris, France
| | - J Clarke
- Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - G Collinson
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - M Combi
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - F Crary
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - T Cravens
- University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - M Crismani
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - S Curry
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D Curtis
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - J Deighan
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - G Delory
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - R Dewey
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - G DiBraccio
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - C Dong
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Y Dong
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - P Dunn
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - M Elrod
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - S England
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - A Eriksson
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - J Espley
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - S Evans
- Computational Physics, Inc., Boulder, CO, USA
| | - X Fang
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - M Fillingim
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - K Fortier
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - C M Fowler
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - J Fox
- Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA
| | - H Gröller
- University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - S Guzewich
- NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
| | - T Hara
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Y Harada
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - G Holsclaw
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - S K Jain
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - R Jolitz
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - F Leblanc
- Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux et observations spatiales (LATMOS)-CNRS, Paris, France
| | - C O Lee
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Y Lee
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - F Lefevre
- Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux et observations spatiales (LATMOS)-CNRS, Paris, France
| | - R Lillis
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - R Livi
- University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - D Lo
- University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | | | | | - T McEnulty
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - R Modolo
- Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux et observations spatiales (LATMOS)-CNRS, Paris, France
| | - F Montmessin
- Laboratoire atmosphères, milieux et observations spatiales (LATMOS)-CNRS, Paris, France
| | - M Morooka
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - A Nagy
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - K Olsen
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - W Peterson
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - A Rahmati
- University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | | | - C T Russell
- University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - S Sakai
- University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - J-A Sauvaud
- CNRS-Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France. University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - K Seki
- Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - M Steckiewicz
- CNRS-Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France. University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - M Stevens
- Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - A Stiepen
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - S Stone
- University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
| | - V Tenishev
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - E Thiemann
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - R Tolson
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - D Toublanc
- CNRS-Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France. University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - M Vogt
- Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - T Weber
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | | | - T Woods
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - R Yelle
- University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
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