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Heterogeneous chemistry in the atmosphere of Mars

Nature volume 454, pages 971–975 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Hydrogen radicals are produced in the martian atmosphere by the photolysis of water vapour and subsequently initiate catalytic cycles that recycle carbon dioxide from its photolysis product carbon monoxide1,2. These processes provide a qualitative explanation for the stability of the atmosphere of Mars, which contains 95 per cent carbon dioxide. Balancing carbon dioxide production and loss based on our current understanding of the gas-phase chemistry in the martian atmosphere has, however, proven to be difficult3,4,5. Interactions between gaseous chemical species and ice cloud particles have been shown to be key factors in the loss of polar ozone observed in the Earth’s stratosphere6, and may significantly perturb the chemistry of the Earth’s upper troposphere7. Water-ice clouds are also commonly observed in the atmosphere of Mars8,9,10 and it has been suggested previously that heterogeneous chemistry could have an important impact on the composition of the martian atmosphere3,4,5,11. Here we use a state-of-the-art general circulation model together with new observations of the martian ozone layer12,13,14,15 to show that model simulations that include chemical reactions occurring on ice clouds lead to much improved quantitative agreement with observed martian ozone levels in comparison with model simulations based on gas-phase chemistry alone. Ozone is readily destroyed by hydrogen radicals and is therefore a sensitive tracer of the chemistry that regulates the atmosphere of Mars. Our results suggest that heterogeneous chemistry on ice clouds plays an important role in controlling the stability and composition of the martian atmosphere.

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Figure 1: Observed and simulated seasonal evolution of water vapour and water-ice clouds.
Figure 2: Observed and simulated seasonal evolution of martian ozone.
Figure 3: Synoptic distribution of O 3 column (micrometre atmosphere) calculated in northern spring and at aphelion.
Figure 4: Observed and simulated seasonal evolution of martian hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).

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Acknowledgements

Much of this work was done while F.L. was on leave from CNRS at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (Granada, Spain). We thank M. Smith, who provided the TES data.

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Author notes

  1. Séverine Perrier

    Present address: Present address: Direction Générale pour l’Armement, Bagneux F-92220, France.,

Authors and Affiliations

  1. UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Service d’Aéronomie, Paris F-75005, France ,

    Franck Lefèvre

  2. CNRS/INSU, France

    Franck Lefèvre, Jean-Loup Bertaux, Thérèse Encrenaz, François Forget, Sébastien Lebonnois, Franck Montmessin & Séverine Perrier

  3. Université Versailles St-Quentin, Service d’Aéronomie, Verrières-le-Buisson F-91371, France ,

    Jean-Loup Bertaux, Franck Montmessin & Séverine Perrier

  4. Space Science Institute, 4750 Walnut Street, Suite 205, Boulder, Colorado 80301, USA ,

    R. Todd Clancy

  5. LESIA, Observatoire de Paris, F-92195 Meudon, France ,

    Thérèse Encrenaz

  6. Planetary Systems Laboratory, Code 693, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA ,

    Kelly Fast

  7. UPMC Univ. Paris 06, Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, Paris F-75005, France

    François Forget & Sébastien Lebonnois

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Correspondence to Franck Lefèvre.

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Lefèvre, F., Bertaux, JL., Clancy, R. et al. Heterogeneous chemistry in the atmosphere of Mars. Nature 454, 971–975 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07116

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