Abstract
During the northern spring (approximately Ls≈33°) in Martian Year 35,
Mars experienced an unusual dust storm characterized by significantly
increased dust in the northern troposphere. As observed by the Mars
Climate Sounder (MCS), temperature significantly increases in the
mid-latitude troposphere of both hemispheres and decreases in the
northern mesosphere during the event. The temperature response simulated
by the Martian General Circulation Model (GCM) agrees with the MCS
observations. The radiative heating from dust is responsible for the
increased temperature in the northern troposphere. In contrast, the
dynamic heating/cooling contributes to the temperature variations in the
southern troposphere and northern mesosphere. The increased dissipation
of planetary waves enhances the residual meridional circulation and
causes the temperature warming in the Southern Hemisphere. In addition,
the enhanced meridional circulation related to this event leads to
~36% increase in water vapor transport from the
Northern to the Southern Hemisphere as compared to the net
interhemispheric transport over an entire Martian Year.