The onset and growth of the 2018 Martian Global Dust Storm
Agustín Sánchez-Lavega, Teresa del Río-Gaztelurrutia, Jorge Hernández-Bernal, Marc Delcroix
(Submitted on 3 Jun 2019)
We analyze the onset and initial expansion of the 2018 Martian Global Dust Storm (GDS 2018) using ground-based images in the visual range. This is the first case of a confirmed GDS initiating in the Northern Hemisphere. A dusty area extending about 1.4x10e5 km^2 and centered at latitude +31.7° ± 1.8° and west longitude 18° ± 5°W in Acidalia Planitia was captured on 30 and 31 May 2018 (Ls = 184.9°). From 1 to 8 June, daily image series showed the storm expanding southwards along the Acidalia corridor with velocities of 5 m/s, and simultaneously progressing eastwards and westwards with horizontal velocities ranging from 5 to 40 m/s. By 8 June the dust reached latitude -55° and later penetrated in the South polar region, whereas in the North the dust progression stopped at latitude +46°. We compare the onset and expansion stage of this GDS with the previous confirmed storms.
Comments: Accepted in Geophysical Research Letters. Main article and Supporting Information
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR); Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics (physics.ao-ph)
DOI: 10.1029/2019GL083207
Cite as: arXiv:1906.00963 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:1906.00963v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
Submission history
From: Agustin Sanchez-Lavega
[v1] Mon, 3 Jun 2019 10:56:07 UTC (4,830 KB)
