12/03/2008 - The Weather on Mars

Published: Feb. 18, 2009, 11:40 p.m.

David Hinson, SETI Institute

In this talk Dave Hinson will examine the weather on Mars using a combination of radio occultation data and wide-angle images obtained by Mars Global Surveyor during its final year of operation. These complementary observations provide a unique perspective on key atmospheric phenomena such as dust storms and winter weather systems (baroclinic eddies). This investigation is revealing the mechanisms through which eastward-traveling eddies influence both the timing and location of distinctive "flushing" dust storms that occur in the topographic basins of the northern hemisphere.

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