[Previous] | [Session 15] | [Next] T. H. McConnochie, B. J.
Conrath, D. Banfield, P. J. Gierasch (Cornell U.), M. D. Smith
(NASA/GSFC) We have used Mars Global Surveyor Thermal Emission
Spectrometer (MGS TES) data to generate a time series of maps
that illustrate the properties of the polar vortices on Mars.
This represents the first detailed study of the structure and
evolution of the Martian circumpolar jets. These jets are an
important component of the general circulation, and control the
critical wintertime transports of water, dust, and momentum into
the polar regions. The polar vortices on Mars are analogous to
the stratospheric polar vortices on Earth. We have mapped
column-integrated aerosol abundances and vertically resolved
temperatures below the 0.1 mb pressure level. Data from each
orbit is smoothed and sampled at 1 degree intervals in latitude.
The smoothed data is then interpolated onto a uniform longitude-
time grid. We calculate the wind field implied by the
temperature data using the "balance