Flux of Water Vapor in the Terrestrial Stratosphere and in the Martian Atmosphere

A summary of the terrestrial satellite data is presented. The observations indicate that at equatorial latitudes, relatively dry air is introduced at the tropopause and carried to the upper stratosphere. At that altitude, any methane present in the ascending air mass is oxidized photochemically into water vapor. This vapor is eventually transported to high latitudes, where it is carried to the lower stratosphere by the descending leg of the diabatic circulation. The Pressure Modulator Infrared Radiometer instrument aboard the Mars Observer should provide a comparable picture of vapor transport in the martian atmosphere.