Science Case 2.6 - Martian Climatic Cycles: Problem Description
The planet Mars possesses a complex climatic system, which is the product of many different factors linked together by mutual interactions. Between such factors, the three Martian cycles of H2O, CO2 and dust stand prominent in their influence on the climate of the Red Planet. Several observations from different instruments have been acquired for the individual components of these cycles, but a greater understanding of the processes that rule Martian climate can be obtained only by merging the various datasets. Here we will develop a tool that will allow to extract, for a given set of spatial and temporal coordinates, all the existing measurements of the constituents linked to the Martian climatic cycles. The possibility of comparing the experimental data with the predictions by the LMD-GCM will be also given. The employed instruments are indicated in the list below, that will be expanded according to the availability and the need of the community:
- SPICAM observations - nadir, occultations geometry
- OMEGA observations - nadir, global monitoring and high resolution maps
- Mars Climate Database simulations
