Comparing Dust Storm Simulations at Horizontal Model Resolutions of 55 and 7.59, based on the Interactive-Dust-Lifting-Technique.

The interactive dust lifting technique is a simulation method of the Mars dust cycle. The Mars Global Climate Model MarsWRF allows the user to self-specify 3 interactive dust lifting parameters, one for dust devils and 2 for dust storms. This requires model calibration by testing different parameter values based on trial and error. The calibration brings the model in line with observation-based knowledge. Among others, the model is calibrated to produce global dust storm events in few Martian Years but not in others. Moreover, the model runs in a fully self-consistent manner, i.e. without incorporating any external data on the Mars dust cycle. This modelling approach characterizes processes such as surface dust loss, transport, and deposition, including regional-to-global dust storms, thus contributes to the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) science objective on the lower atmosphere, and also the objective of correlating the lower and upper atmosphere [1]. This presentation adds to recent interactive dust cycle simulations by the MarsWRF model at horizontal resolutions of 2°×2° and 5°×5° (latitude×longitude) [2,3]. The latter are repeated here at the classical resolution of 7.5°×9° (latitude×longitude) and compared against higher resolution. Of particular interest are dust storms and surface dust lifting characteristics. More information on the model resolution of 7.5°×9° can be found in [4]. [1] About EMM | Emirates Mars Mission [2] Gebhardt, C., Abuelgasim, A., Fonseca, R. M., Martín-Torres, J., & Zorzano, M.-P. (2020). Fully interactive and refined resolution simulations of the Martian dust cycle by the MarsWRF model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 125, e2019JE006253. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JE006253 [3] Gebhardt, C., Abuelgasim, A., Fonseca, R. M., Martin-Torres, J., & Zorzano, M.-P. (2021). Characterizing dust-radiation feedback and refining the horizontal resolution of the MarsWRF model down to 0.5 degree. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 126, e2020JE006672. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JE006672 [4] Toigo, A. D., Lee, C., Newman, C. E., & Richardson, M. I. (2012). The impact of resolution on the dynamics of the Martian global atmosphere: Varying resolution studies with the MarsWRF GCM. Icarus, 221(1), 276 288. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2012.07.020