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18Complex Systems of Charged Particles and their Interactions with Electromagnetic Radiation 2018
DUSTY PLASMAS IN MARTIAN ATMOSPHERE AND VORTEX PHENOMENA AT
THE SURFACE OF MARS
Yu.N. Izvekova, S.I. Popel
Space Research Institute RAS, Moscow, Russia, e-mail: popel@iki.rssi.ru
The atmosphere of Mars is much thinner than the Earth's atmosphere, and its ability to hold dust grains for a long time is very low. High dust density is observed only during dust storms or other events that lift dust from the Martian surface. The data on the presence of dust in the Martian atmosphere were obtained from Mars rovers and instruments installed on orbital stations. At altitudes of 100 km in the mesosphere, where the temperature is sufficiently low for carbon dioxide freezing, clouds formed of dust grains with a size of about 100 nm (similar to noctilucent clouds in the Earth's atmosphere) were observed within Mars Express mission. In addition, within the same mission, clouds of micron-size grains were observed at altitudes of about 80 km. Here, we pay special attention to vortex phenomena called usually as Dust Devils that frequently form in the Martian atmosphere and can efficiently lift dust grains. The processes of dust grain charging as a result of triboelectric effect and generation of electric fields in a Dust Devil are discussed. We simulate the dynamics of dust grains in such a vortex with allowance for their charging and the generated electric field.
This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 1802-00341) and by the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences (program no. 28 "Space: Research of fundamental processes and their interrelations").
