Spectral analysis of the Martian atmospheric turbulence: InSight observations

Orkun Temel (1, 2) , Cem Senel (1) , Aymeric Spiga (3) , Naomi Murdoch (4) , Don Banfield (5) , Ozgur Karatekin (1)

1 ROB - Royal Observatory of Belgium = Observatoire Royal de Belgique
2 KU Leuven - Catholic University of Leuven = Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
3 LMD - Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (UMR 8539)
4 ISAE-SUPAERO - Institut Supérieur de l'Aéronautique et de l'Espace
5 Cornell University [New York]

In this study, we perform a detailed spectral analysis of the turbulent energy cascade using the in-situ observations by NASA's InSight lander on Mars. A recent study on the daytime Martian boundary layer using the InSight observations showed that the conventional Kolmogorov energy cascade of inertial sub-range fails to predict the spectral density of pressure. Here we extend this by investigating diurnal and seasonal variations in the spectral density of pressure, as the indicator of the Martian atmospheric turbulence. We show distinct spectral behaviours for the daytime and nighttime conditions. Moreover, we report the important effects of regional dust storms, gravity waves, bore and solitary waves on the turbulent energy cascade. Our results show that the presence of a dust storm and gravity wave activity can enhance the turbulence of the nighttime boundary layer of Mars despite the extreme stably stratified conditions compared to the terrestrial case.

Domaines: Planétologie et astrophysique de la terre [astro-ph.EP]

Orkun Temel, Cem Senel, Aymeric Spiga, Naomi Murdoch, Don Banfield, et al.. Spectral analysis of the Martian atmospheric turbulence: InSight observations. 2022. ⟨hal-03670716⟩