Mapping of Ozone and Water in the Atmosphere of Mars near the 1997 Aphelion

• Published in: Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962) N.Y. 1962), 2002-07, Vol.158 (1), p.14-23
• Main Authors: Novak, Robert E., Mumma, Michael J., DiSanti, Michael A., Russo, Neil Dello, Magee-Sauer, Karen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0019-1035; 1090-2643
• DOI: 10.1006/icar.2002.6863

We present absolute abundances and latitudinal variations of ozone and water in the atmosphere of Mars during its late northern spring ( L s=67.3°) shortly before aphelion. Long-slit maps of the a 1Δ g state of molecular oxygen (O 2) and HDO, an isotopic form of water, were acquired on UT January 21.6 1997 using a high-resolution infrared spectrometer (CSHELL) at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility. O 2(a 1Δ g) is produced by ozone photolysis, and the ensuing dayglow emission at 1.27 μm is used as a tracer for ozone. Retrieved vertical column densities for ozone above ∼20 km ranged between 1.5 and 2.8 μm-atm at mid- to low latitudes (30°S–60°N) and decreased outside that region. A significant decrease in ozone density is seen near 30°N (close to the subsolar latitude of 23.5°N). The rotational temperatures retrieved from O 2(a–X) emissions show a mean of 172±2.5 K, confirming that the sensed ozone lies in the middle atmosphere (∼24 km). The ν 1 fundamental band of HDO near 3.67 μm was used as a proxy for H 2O. The retrieved vertical column abundance of water varies from 3 precipitable microns (pr-μm) at ∼30°S to 24 pr-μm at ∼60°N. We compare these results with current photochemical models and with measurements obtained by other methods.