Global Distribution and Seasonality of Martian Atmospheric HCl Explained Through Heterogeneous Chemistry
Abstract Recent observations from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) have revealed the presence of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in the martian atmosphere. HCl shows strong seasonality, primarily appearing during Mars' perihelion period before decreasing faster than projected from photolysis and gas...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111059 |
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| author | Paul M. Streeter Kylash Rajendran Stephen R. Lewis Kevin S. Olsen Alexander Trokhimovskiy Oleg Korablev Manish R. Patel |
| author_facet | Paul M. Streeter Kylash Rajendran Stephen R. Lewis Kevin S. Olsen Alexander Trokhimovskiy Oleg Korablev Manish R. Patel |
| author_sort | Paul M. Streeter |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Recent observations from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) have revealed the presence of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in the martian atmosphere. HCl shows strong seasonality, primarily appearing during Mars' perihelion period before decreasing faster than projected from photolysis and gas‐phase chemistry. HCl profiles also display local anti‐correlation with water ice aerosol. One candidate explanation is heterogeneous chemistry. We present the first results from a heterogeneous chlorine chemistry scheme incorporated into a Mars global climate model (GCM), with atmospheric dust/water ice parameterized as an HCl source/sink respectively. Results were compared against a Mars GCM with gas‐phase only chlorine chemistry and observations from TGO's Atmospheric Chemistry Suite. We found that the heterogeneous scheme significantly improved the modeled HCl seasonal, latitudinal, and vertical distribution, supporting a crucial role for heterogeneous chemistry in Mars' chlorine cycle. Remaining discrepancies show that further work is needed to characterize the exact aerosol reactions involved. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eec973f5c75a4fe9a44a3c6f4bc5ece7 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-eec973f5c75a4fe9a44a3c6f4bc5ece72025-08-20T01:48:15ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-03-01526n/an/a10.1029/2024GL111059Global Distribution and Seasonality of Martian Atmospheric HCl Explained Through Heterogeneous ChemistryPaul M. Streeter0Kylash Rajendran1Stephen R. Lewis2Kevin S. Olsen3Alexander Trokhimovskiy4Oleg Korablev5Manish R. Patel6School of Physical Sciences The Open University Milton Keynes UKSchool of Physical Sciences The Open University Milton Keynes UKSchool of Physical Sciences The Open University Milton Keynes UKDepartment of Physics University of Oxford Oxford UKSpace Research Institute (IKI) Moscow RussiaSpace Research Institute (IKI) Moscow RussiaSchool of Physical Sciences The Open University Milton Keynes UKAbstract Recent observations from the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) have revealed the presence of hydrogen chloride (HCl) in the martian atmosphere. HCl shows strong seasonality, primarily appearing during Mars' perihelion period before decreasing faster than projected from photolysis and gas‐phase chemistry. HCl profiles also display local anti‐correlation with water ice aerosol. One candidate explanation is heterogeneous chemistry. We present the first results from a heterogeneous chlorine chemistry scheme incorporated into a Mars global climate model (GCM), with atmospheric dust/water ice parameterized as an HCl source/sink respectively. Results were compared against a Mars GCM with gas‐phase only chlorine chemistry and observations from TGO's Atmospheric Chemistry Suite. We found that the heterogeneous scheme significantly improved the modeled HCl seasonal, latitudinal, and vertical distribution, supporting a crucial role for heterogeneous chemistry in Mars' chlorine cycle. Remaining discrepancies show that further work is needed to characterize the exact aerosol reactions involved.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111059Mars atmospherechlorineheterogeneous chemistryGCMaerosols |
| spellingShingle | Paul M. Streeter Kylash Rajendran Stephen R. Lewis Kevin S. Olsen Alexander Trokhimovskiy Oleg Korablev Manish R. Patel Global Distribution and Seasonality of Martian Atmospheric HCl Explained Through Heterogeneous Chemistry Geophysical Research Letters Mars atmosphere chlorine heterogeneous chemistry GCM aerosols |
| title | Global Distribution and Seasonality of Martian Atmospheric HCl Explained Through Heterogeneous Chemistry |
| title_full | Global Distribution and Seasonality of Martian Atmospheric HCl Explained Through Heterogeneous Chemistry |
| title_fullStr | Global Distribution and Seasonality of Martian Atmospheric HCl Explained Through Heterogeneous Chemistry |
| title_full_unstemmed | Global Distribution and Seasonality of Martian Atmospheric HCl Explained Through Heterogeneous Chemistry |
| title_short | Global Distribution and Seasonality of Martian Atmospheric HCl Explained Through Heterogeneous Chemistry |
| title_sort | global distribution and seasonality of martian atmospheric hcl explained through heterogeneous chemistry |
| topic | Mars atmosphere chlorine heterogeneous chemistry GCM aerosols |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111059 |
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