Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars

Melissa G. Trainer; Michael H. Wong; Timothy H. McConnochie; Heather B. Franz; Sushil K. Atreya; Pamela G. Conrad; Franck Lefèvre; Paul R. Mahaffy; Charles A. Malespin; Heidi L. K. Manning; Javier Martín-Torres; Germán. M. Martínez; Christopher P. McKay; Rafael Navarro-González; Álvaro Vicente-Retortillo; Christopher R. Webster; María-Paz Zorzano

doi:10.1029/2019JE006175

Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars

Melissa G. Trainer^*, Michael H. Wong, Timothy H. McConnochie, Heather B. Franz, Sushil K. Atreya, Pamela G. Conrad, Franck Lefèvre, Paul R. Mahaffy, Charles A. Malespin, Heidi L. K. Manning, Javier Martín-Torres, Germán. M. Martínez, Christopher P. McKay, Rafael Navarro-González, Álvaro Vicente-Retortillo, Christopher R. Webster, María-Paz Zorzano

^*Corresponding author for this work

Geology and Geophysics

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Abstract

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover measures the chemical composition of major atmospheric species (CO₂, N₂, ⁴⁰Ar, O₂, and CO) through a dedicated atmospheric inlet. We report here measurements of volume mixing ratios in Gale Crater using the SAM quadrupole mass spectrometer, obtained over a period of nearly 5 years (3 Mars years) from landing. The observation period spans the northern summer of MY 31 and solar longitude (L_S) of 175° through spring of MY 34, L_S = 12°. This work expands upon prior reports of the mixing ratios measured by SAM QMS in the first 105 sols of the mission. The SAM QMS atmospheric measurements were taken periodically, with a cumulative coverage of four or five experiments per season on Mars. Major observations include the seasonal cycle of CO₂, N₂, and Ar, which lags approximately 20-40° of L_S behind the pressure cycle driven by CO₂ condensation and sublimation from the winter poles. This seasonal cycle indicates that transport occurs on faster timescales than mixing. The mixing ratio of O₂ shows significant seasonal and interannual variability, suggesting an unknown atmospheric or surface process at work. The O₂ measurements are compared to several parameters, including dust optical depth and trace CH₄ measurements by Curiosity. We derive annual mean volume mixing ratios for the atmosphere in Gale Crater: CO₂ = 0.951 (±0.003), N₂ = 0.0259 (±0.0006), ⁴⁰Ar = 0.0194 (±0.0004), O₂ = 1.61 (±0.09) x 10^-3, and CO = 5.8 (±0.8) x 10^-4.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3000-3024
Number of pages	25
Journal	Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets
Volume	124
Issue number	11
Early online date	21 Nov 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006175
Publication status	Published - Nov 2019

Bibliographical note

All MSL data used in this manuscript (REMS and SAM) are freely available on NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) Geosciences Node, from within 6 months after receipt on Earth (http://pds‐geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/). The mixing ratios developed and presented in this paper are available at a publicly available archive (dataverse.org: doi.org/10.7910/DVN/CVUOWW) as cited within the manuscript. The successful operation of the Curiosity rover and the SAM instrument on Mars is due to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of scientists, engineers, and managers over more than a decade. Essential contributions to the successful operation of SAM on Mars and the acquisition of SAM data were provided by the SAM development, operations, and test bed teams. The authors gratefully thank the SAM and MSL teams that have contributed in numerous ways to obtain the data that enabled this scientific work. We also thank NASA for the support of the development of SAM, SAM data analysis, and the continued support of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The contribution of F. Lefèvre was supported by the Programme National de Planétologie (PNP). R. Navarro‐Gonzalez acknowledges support from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (PAPIIT IN111619). LPI is operated by USRA under a cooperative agreement with the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We thank members of the SAM and larger MSL team for insightful discussions and support. In particular, we thank R. Becker and R. O. Pepin for careful review of data analysis and interpretation. We thank M. D. Smith for discussion of CRISM CO measurements. We thank A. Brunner, M. Johnson, and M. Lefavor for their development of customized data analysis tools used here and in other SAM publications.

Keywords

atmospheric composition
Mars atmosphere
Mars seasonal cycle
Mars Science Laboratory
MSL/SAM
sample analysis mars

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©2019. The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
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Cite this

Trainer, M. G., Wong, M. H., McConnochie, T. H., Franz, H. B., Atreya, S. K., Conrad, P. G., Lefèvre, F., Mahaffy, P. R., Malespin, C. A., Manning, H. L. K., Martín-Torres, J., Martínez, G. M., McKay, C. P., Navarro-González, R., Vicente-Retortillo, Á., Webster, C. R., & Zorzano, M.-P. (2019). Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, 124(11), 3000-3024. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006175

Trainer, MG, Wong, MH, McConnochie, TH, Franz, HB, Atreya, SK, Conrad, PG, Lefèvre, F, Mahaffy, PR, Malespin, CA, Manning, HLK, Martín-Torres, J, Martínez, GM, McKay, CP, Navarro-González, R, Vicente-Retortillo, Á, Webster, CR & Zorzano, M-P 2019, 'Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars', Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets, vol. 124, no. 11, pp. 3000-3024. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006175

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title = "Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars",

abstract = "The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover measures the chemical composition of major atmospheric species (CO2, N2, 40Ar, O2, and CO) through a dedicated atmospheric inlet. We report here measurements of volume mixing ratios in Gale Crater using the SAM quadrupole mass spectrometer, obtained over a period of nearly 5 years (3 Mars years) from landing. The observation period spans the northern summer of MY 31 and solar longitude (LS) of 175° through spring of MY 34, LS = 12°. This work expands upon prior reports of the mixing ratios measured by SAM QMS in the first 105 sols of the mission. The SAM QMS atmospheric measurements were taken periodically, with a cumulative coverage of four or five experiments per season on Mars. Major observations include the seasonal cycle of CO2, N2, and Ar, which lags approximately 20-40° of LS behind the pressure cycle driven by CO2 condensation and sublimation from the winter poles. This seasonal cycle indicates that transport occurs on faster timescales than mixing. The mixing ratio of O2 shows significant seasonal and interannual variability, suggesting an unknown atmospheric or surface process at work. The O2 measurements are compared to several parameters, including dust optical depth and trace CH4 measurements by Curiosity. We derive annual mean volume mixing ratios for the atmosphere in Gale Crater: CO2 = 0.951 (±0.003), N2 = 0.0259 (±0.0006), 40Ar = 0.0194 (±0.0004), O2 = 1.61 (±0.09) x 10-3, and CO = 5.8 (±0.8) x 10-4.",

keywords = "atmospheric composition, Mars atmosphere, Mars seasonal cycle, Mars Science Laboratory, MSL/SAM, sample analysis mars",

author = "Trainer, {Melissa G.} and Wong, {Michael H.} and McConnochie, {Timothy H.} and Franz, {Heather B.} and Atreya, {Sushil K.} and Conrad, {Pamela G.} and Franck Lef{\`e}vre and Mahaffy, {Paul R.} and Malespin, {Charles A.} and Manning, {Heidi L. K.} and Javier Mart{\'i}n-Torres and Mart{\'i}nez, {Germ{\'a}n. M.} and McKay, {Christopher P.} and Rafael Navarro-Gonz{\'a}lez and {\'A}lvaro Vicente-Retortillo and Webster, {Christopher R.} and Mar{\'i}a-Paz Zorzano",

note = "All MSL data used in this manuscript (REMS and SAM) are freely available on NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) Geosciences Node, from within 6 months after receipt on Earth (http://pds‐geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/). The mixing ratios developed and presented in this paper are available at a publicly available archive (dataverse.org: doi.org/10.7910/DVN/CVUOWW) as cited within the manuscript. The successful operation of the Curiosity rover and the SAM instrument on Mars is due to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of scientists, engineers, and managers over more than a decade. Essential contributions to the successful operation of SAM on Mars and the acquisition of SAM data were provided by the SAM development, operations, and test bed teams. The authors gratefully thank the SAM and MSL teams that have contributed in numerous ways to obtain the data that enabled this scientific work. We also thank NASA for the support of the development of SAM, SAM data analysis, and the continued support of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The contribution of F. Lef{\`e}vre was supported by the Programme National de Plan{\'e}tologie (PNP). R. Navarro‐Gonzalez acknowledges support from the Universidad Nacional Aut{\'o}noma de M{\'e}xico (PAPIIT IN111619). LPI is operated by USRA under a cooperative agreement with the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We thank members of the SAM and larger MSL team for insightful discussions and support. In particular, we thank R. Becker and R. O. Pepin for careful review of data analysis and interpretation. We thank M. D. Smith for discussion of CRISM CO measurements. We thank A. Brunner, M. Johnson, and M. Lefavor for their development of customized data analysis tools used here and in other SAM publications.",

year = "2019",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1029/2019JE006175",

language = "English",

volume = "124",

pages = "3000--3024",

journal = "Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets",

issn = "2169-9097",

publisher = "John Wiley & Sons",

number = "11",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars

AU - Trainer, Melissa G.

AU - Wong, Michael H.

AU - McConnochie, Timothy H.

AU - Franz, Heather B.

AU - Atreya, Sushil K.

AU - Conrad, Pamela G.

AU - Lefèvre, Franck

AU - Mahaffy, Paul R.

AU - Malespin, Charles A.

AU - Manning, Heidi L. K.

AU - Martín-Torres, Javier

AU - Martínez, Germán. M.

AU - McKay, Christopher P.

AU - Navarro-González, Rafael

AU - Vicente-Retortillo, Álvaro

AU - Webster, Christopher R.

AU - Zorzano, María-Paz

N1 - All MSL data used in this manuscript (REMS and SAM) are freely available on NASA's Planetary Data System (PDS) Geosciences Node, from within 6 months after receipt on Earth (http://pds‐geosciences.wustl.edu/missions/msl/). The mixing ratios developed and presented in this paper are available at a publicly available archive (dataverse.org: doi.org/10.7910/DVN/CVUOWW) as cited within the manuscript. The successful operation of the Curiosity rover and the SAM instrument on Mars is due to the hard work and dedication of hundreds of scientists, engineers, and managers over more than a decade. Essential contributions to the successful operation of SAM on Mars and the acquisition of SAM data were provided by the SAM development, operations, and test bed teams. The authors gratefully thank the SAM and MSL teams that have contributed in numerous ways to obtain the data that enabled this scientific work. We also thank NASA for the support of the development of SAM, SAM data analysis, and the continued support of the Mars Science Laboratory mission. The contribution of F. Lefèvre was supported by the Programme National de Planétologie (PNP). R. Navarro‐Gonzalez acknowledges support from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (PAPIIT IN111619). LPI is operated by USRA under a cooperative agreement with the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. We thank members of the SAM and larger MSL team for insightful discussions and support. In particular, we thank R. Becker and R. O. Pepin for careful review of data analysis and interpretation. We thank M. D. Smith for discussion of CRISM CO measurements. We thank A. Brunner, M. Johnson, and M. Lefavor for their development of customized data analysis tools used here and in other SAM publications.

PY - 2019/11

Y1 - 2019/11

N2 - The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover measures the chemical composition of major atmospheric species (CO2, N2, 40Ar, O2, and CO) through a dedicated atmospheric inlet. We report here measurements of volume mixing ratios in Gale Crater using the SAM quadrupole mass spectrometer, obtained over a period of nearly 5 years (3 Mars years) from landing. The observation period spans the northern summer of MY 31 and solar longitude (LS) of 175° through spring of MY 34, LS = 12°. This work expands upon prior reports of the mixing ratios measured by SAM QMS in the first 105 sols of the mission. The SAM QMS atmospheric measurements were taken periodically, with a cumulative coverage of four or five experiments per season on Mars. Major observations include the seasonal cycle of CO2, N2, and Ar, which lags approximately 20-40° of LS behind the pressure cycle driven by CO2 condensation and sublimation from the winter poles. This seasonal cycle indicates that transport occurs on faster timescales than mixing. The mixing ratio of O2 shows significant seasonal and interannual variability, suggesting an unknown atmospheric or surface process at work. The O2 measurements are compared to several parameters, including dust optical depth and trace CH4 measurements by Curiosity. We derive annual mean volume mixing ratios for the atmosphere in Gale Crater: CO2 = 0.951 (±0.003), N2 = 0.0259 (±0.0006), 40Ar = 0.0194 (±0.0004), O2 = 1.61 (±0.09) x 10-3, and CO = 5.8 (±0.8) x 10-4.

AB - The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover measures the chemical composition of major atmospheric species (CO2, N2, 40Ar, O2, and CO) through a dedicated atmospheric inlet. We report here measurements of volume mixing ratios in Gale Crater using the SAM quadrupole mass spectrometer, obtained over a period of nearly 5 years (3 Mars years) from landing. The observation period spans the northern summer of MY 31 and solar longitude (LS) of 175° through spring of MY 34, LS = 12°. This work expands upon prior reports of the mixing ratios measured by SAM QMS in the first 105 sols of the mission. The SAM QMS atmospheric measurements were taken periodically, with a cumulative coverage of four or five experiments per season on Mars. Major observations include the seasonal cycle of CO2, N2, and Ar, which lags approximately 20-40° of LS behind the pressure cycle driven by CO2 condensation and sublimation from the winter poles. This seasonal cycle indicates that transport occurs on faster timescales than mixing. The mixing ratio of O2 shows significant seasonal and interannual variability, suggesting an unknown atmospheric or surface process at work. The O2 measurements are compared to several parameters, including dust optical depth and trace CH4 measurements by Curiosity. We derive annual mean volume mixing ratios for the atmosphere in Gale Crater: CO2 = 0.951 (±0.003), N2 = 0.0259 (±0.0006), 40Ar = 0.0194 (±0.0004), O2 = 1.61 (±0.09) x 10-3, and CO = 5.8 (±0.8) x 10-4.

KW - atmospheric composition

KW - Mars atmosphere

KW - Mars seasonal cycle

KW - Mars Science Laboratory

KW - MSL/SAM

KW - sample analysis mars

U2 - 10.1029/2019JE006175

DO - 10.1029/2019JE006175

M3 - Article

SN - 2169-9097

VL - 124

SP - 3000

EP - 3024

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets

IS - 11

ER -

Seasonal Variations in Atmospheric Composition as Measured in Gale Crater, Mars

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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