The first traces of snow on Mars the Phoenix mission spotted in 2008.
French and American geophysicists made the existence on Mars of snow storms. A study published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Snow, according to scientists, formed after sunset, of the clouds, located at an altitude of 10-20 km. Upon termination of the access of light, the temperature inside them falls by an average of four degrees, with the result that atmospheric formations coming down mixed with the ascending warmer atmospheric flows.
About two o’clock (local time) the wind speed on Mars can reach ten meters per second, flows carry particles of water ice. According to scientists, the frozen particles requires only about five to ten minutes to fall to a height of one to two kilometers. It is this high velocity of the snow may be one reason explaining the high rate of loss of water by the atmosphere of ancient Mars.
To these findings, the authors came by combining three climate model of the red planet. Earlier authors used to predict conditions in the atmosphere only one model at a time, allowing, for example, to predict the location of clouds, but not dynamic conditions within them.
The first traces of snow on Mars the Phoenix mission spotted in 2008. Experts say that the phenomenon you can often observe at the poles of the red planet. Scientists warn about possible risks to future missions to Mars (manned and automated), landing where a snow storm can be dangerous.
© 2017 – 2019, paradox. All rights reserved.
