Mars Dust Storms May Be Due to Seasonal Changes in the Planet, Scientists Say

Scientists are currently looking for seasonal changes such as changes in absorbed solar energy and rises in temperatures that stimulate dust storms and cause them to combine and grow.

As specified in a ScienceAlert report, Mars is popular for its seasonal dust storms, which can sometimes "grow to encompass the entire planet."

In 2018, the dust storms turned out so severe that they covered most of the planet's surface, causing NASA to lose contact with Opportunity, which eventually proved deadly to the record-breaking rover.

Understanding these Mars dust storms and what's causing them is crucial to guaranteeing that solar-powered robotic missions continue functioning and crewed missions can stay safe.

Seasonal Energy Imbalances

Recent research carried out by researchers from the University of Houston indicated that these could result from "seasonal energy imbalances" in the amount of solar energy the planet is absorbing and releasing. These findings could result in a new insight into the planet's climate and atmosphere.

The study was led by the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. student Ellen Creecy from the University of Houston as part of her doctoral thesis.

In this research, Creecy was joined by her thesis advisors at the EAS, Dr. Xun Jiang and Dr. Liming Li, as well as the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center researchers, Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA, and the Universities Space Research Association at the Lunar Planetary Institute.

Radiant Energy Budget

The term "radiant energy budget" pertains to the amount of solar energy a planet absorbs from the Sun and releases outward ad heat. This is an essential metric for characterizing the climate and meteorological cycles of the earth.

For the sake of their research, the researchers combined observations from several missions such as the Mars Global Surveyor, the InSight lander, and the Curiosity rover.

This enabled them to model the climate of the Red Planet and approximate the amount of energy it emitted globally as a "function of season," which includes periods with a global dust storm.

Creecy explained that one of the most interesting findings from this study is that energy excess, more energy being absorbed than yielded, could be one of the generating mechanisms of dust storms on Mars.

The findings revealed strong seasonal and daily changes in the amount of solar energy radiated by the Red Planet.

Link Between Dust Storms and Energy Imbalances

The study investigators specifically found evidence of a strong energy imbalance between the Red Planet's seasons compared to Earth.

They further discovered that during the planet-encircling 2001 dust storm, the amount of power emitted globally dropped by 22 percent in the daytime but rose by 29 percent during nighttime.

USRA staff scientist Dr. German Martinez from the LPI and co-author of the paper explained that their findings that showed strong energy imbalances suggest that present numerical models need to be revisited, as they usually assume that the radiant energy of Mars is balanced between the seasons of Mars.

Moreover, the study findings also highlight the link between dust storms and energy imbalances and thus can offer a new understanding of the generation of Martian dust storms. This recent report about dust storms on Mars first came out in Universe Today.

Related information about storm dust on Mars is shown on the National Geographic's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Mars in Science Times.