[MITgcm-support] MITgcm: on Mars. Queries.....

[Yuan Lian]

Hi Sonal,

I may be able to answer your questions. If I understand correctly, you 
are trying to get the density distribution for each chemical species in 
the upper atmosphere (i.e., to explain the airglow etc?).
>
> I am working in the field of planetary aeronomy, mainly on UV and 
> visible emissions coming from upper atmospheres of Mars and Venus. 
> Recently
> I have seen accepted manuscript in journal Icarus regarding MITgcm 
> model on Mars. Related to GCM of Mars, I have some queries:
>
> 1) Is calculation of densities of different gases on Mars (eg., CO2, 
> CO, N2) is possible in MITgcm?
It is possible to get the densities as we know the mass mixing ratios of 
these species. Currently we only investigated the passive tracers such 
as argon and nitrogen, not all the tracers of your interest.
> 2) If yes, then upto what altitude we calculate these densities?
We are only interested in the lower atmosphere at the moment, including 
troposphere and stratosphere that are topped at 100km. Simulating the 
circulations/tracer transport in the upper atmosphere (i.e., 
thermosphere and higher) is difficult as we don't have a working 
photochemical model.
> 3) Is it possible to calculated densities of various gases for 
> different latitude on Mars, and for different solar zenith angle and 
> solar longitudes?
>
Yes, the density distribution varies spatially and temporally. Again, 
the current model cannot simulate the tracer transport in the upper 
atmosphere.

Hope this helps.

Best,
Yuan