Water Ice Clouds in the Atmosphere of Mars

Thin water ice clouds are often seen in the atmosphere of Mars and, unlike Earth,
temperatures reach sufficiently low for carbon dioxide ice clouds to form as well. This
project will involve the use of the Open University Mars global circulation model to
investigate the martian cloud cycle [1]. Dust, water vapour and ice are transported by winds
in the martian atmosphere. They interact through absorbing and emitting radiation,
affecting atmospheric temperatures and wind patterns in turn [2]. Atmospheric
Figure 1: Satellite observations from the Mars Climate Sounder of the latitude-altitude distribution of water ice
opacity during the 2018 global dust storm (left) and in the subsequent year with no global dust storm.
temperatures determine where condensable species freeze into ice, or ice sublimates, and
dust plays a further role as condensation nuclei for ice particles.
In 2018, Mars experienced a global dust storm, when most of the planet was enshrouded in
a layer of dust resulting from global-scale dust activity. During such extreme events, the
distribution of water vapour and water ice clouds is modified significantly, resulting in the
transport of water to much higher altitudes in the atmosphere than is normally possible.
This 'uplift' of water is believed to be linked to the overall loss of water from the top of the
atmosphere of Mars. Understanding the behaviour of water under a range of dust activity
will allow water loss rates to be calculated over time for several Mars years