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[51.05] Recent TES Results: Mars Water Vapor Abundance and the Vertical Distribution of Aerosols

M. D. Smith, J. C. Pearl (NASA/GSFC), B. J. Conrath (Cornell), P. R. Christensen (Ariz. St.)

The results of two new retrieval algorithms for use with Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) spectra are presented. The first retrieval algorithm uses the depth of water vapor rotational bands (200-400 cm^-1) in TES nadir-viewing spectra to retrieve water vapor column abundance as a function of location and season. Water vapor column abundance has been retrieved during MGS mapping for nearly one Mars year (L_s=104 or March 1, 1999 to present, about L_s=60). Local maxima in water vapor column abundance are observed after each solstice at high latitudes in the summer hemisphere. During southern summer a secondary local maximum in water vapor exists at low-latitudes in the northern (winter) hemisphere. During northernsummer water vapor abundance decreases monotonically from north to south with no secondary local maximum in the southern (winter) hemisphere.

The second retrieval algorithm uses TES limb-viewing spectra to constrain the vertical distribution and single-scattering albedo of dust and water-ice aerosols. The vertical distribution of aerosols shows a variety of behaviors such as hazes and detached layers. The spectral dependence of single-scattering albedo can provide a valuable constraint on aerosol composition and particle size.