Simulation of the atmospheric thermal circulation of a martian volcano using a mesoscale numerical model

Mesoscale (< 100 km) atmospheric phenomena are ubiquitous on Mars, as revealed by Mars Orbiter Camera images(1-3). Numerical models provide an important means of investigating martian atmospheric dynamics, for which data availability is limited. But the resolution of general circulation models, which are traditionally used for such research, is not sufficient to resolve mesoscale phenomena(4-6). To provide better understanding of these relatively small-scale phenomena, mesoscale models have recently been introduced(7-9). Here we simulate the mesoscale spiral dust cloud observed over the caldera of the volcano Arsia Mons by using the Mars Regional Atmospheric Modelling System. Our simulation uses a hierarchy of nested models with grid sizes ranging from 240 km to 3 km, and reveals that the dust cloud is an indicator of a greater but optically thin thermal circulation that reaches heights of up to 30 km, and transports dust horizontally over thousands of kilometres.