Climatology of the CO vertical distribution on Mars based on ACS TGO
measurements
Abstract
Carbon monoxide is a non-condensable species of the Martian atmosphere
produced by the photolysis of CO2. Its mixing ratio responds to the
condensation and sublimation of CO2; from the polar caps, resulting in
seasonal variations of the CO abundance. Since 2018, all three
spectrometers of the Atmospheric Chemistry Suite (ACS) onboard the Trace
Gas Orbiter have measured CO in infrared bands by solar occultation.
Here we provide the first long-term monitoring of the CO vertical
distribution at the altitude range from 0 to 80 km for 1.5 Martian years
from Ls=163; of MY34 to the end of MY35. We obtained a mean CO volume
mixing ratio of ~960 ppm at latitudes from 45S to 45N,
mostly consistent with previous observations. We found a strong
enrichment of CO near the surface at Ls=100-200; in high southern
latitudes with a layer of 3000-4000 ppmv, corresponding to local
depletion of CO2. At equinoxes we found an increase of mixing ratio
above 50 km to 3000–4000 ppmv explained by the downwelling flux of the
Hadley circulation on Mars, which drags the CO enriched air. The general
circulation chemical model tends to overestimate the intensity of this
process, bringing too much CO. The observed minimum of CO in the high
and mid-latitudes southern summer atmosphere amounts to 700-750 ppmv,
agreeing with nadir measurements. During the global dust storm of MY34,
when the H2O abundance peaks, we see less CO than during the calm MY35,
suggesting an impact of HOx chemistry on the CO abundance.