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Title: 'Cloud' over Mars leaves scientists baffled
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URL Source: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-cloud-mars-scientists-baffled.html
Published: Feb 16, 2015
Author: Phys.org
Post Date: 2015-02-16 21:03:54 by A K A Stone
Keywords: None
Views: 2296
Comments: 10
Plumes seen reaching high above the surface of Mars are causing a stir among scientists studying the atmosphere on the Red Planet. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-cloud-mars-scientists- baffled.html#jCp On two separate occasions in March and April 2012, amateur astronomers reported definite plume-like features developing on the planet. The plumes were seen rising to altitudes of over 250 km above the same region of Mars on both occasions. By comparison, similar features seen in the past have not exceeded 100 km. "At about 250 km, the division between the atmosphere and outer space is very thin, so the reported plumes are extremely unexpected," says Agustin Sanchez-Lavega of the Universidad del País Vasco in Spain, lead author of the paper reporting the results in the journal Nature. The features developed in less than 10 hours, covering an area of up to 1000 x 500 km, and remained visible for around 10 days, changing their structure from day to day. None of the spacecraft orbiting Mars saw the features because of their viewing geometries and illumination conditions at the time. However, checking archived Hubble Space Telescope images taken between 1995 and 1999 and of databases of amateur images spanning 2001 to 2014 revealed occasional clouds at the limb of Mars, albeit usually only up to 100 km in altitude. But one set of Hubble images from 17 May 1997 revealed an abnormally high plume, similar to that spotted by the amateur astronomers in 2012. Observations of a mysterious plume-like feature (marked with yellow arrow) at the limb of the Red Planet on 20 March 2012. The observation was made by astronomer W. Jaeschke. The image is shown with the north pole towards the bottom and the …more Scientists are now working on determining the nature and cause of the plumes by using the Hubble data in combination with the images taken by amateurs. "One idea we've discussed is that the features are caused by a reflective cloud of water-ice, carbon dioxide-ice or dust particles, but this would require exceptional deviations from standard atmospheric circulation models to explain cloud formations at such high altitudes," says Agustin. A curious plume-like feature was observed on Mars on 17 May 1997 by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is similar to the features detected by amateur astronomers in 2012, although appeared in a different location. Credit: JPL/NASA/STScI "Another idea is that they are related to an auroral emission, and indeed auroras have been previously observed at these locations, linked to a known region on the surface where there is a large anomaly in the crustal magnetic field," adds Antonio Garcia Munoz, a research fellow at ESA's ESTEC and co- author of the study. The jury is still out on the nature and genesis of these curious high- altitude martian plumes. Further insights should be possible following the arrival of ESA's ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter at the Red Planet, scheduled for launch in 2016.
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#4. To: A K A Stone, All (#0)
Global warming on Mars due to man. NASA pulls another one out of its ass. "NASA: Martian Polar Ice Caps Melting Result Of Global Warming October 18th, 2014 | by Bob Flanagan NASA: Martian Polar Ice Caps Melting Result Of Global Warming Science 560 NASA officials are warning that the dramatic rate at which the Martian polar ice caps are melting is directly linked to human caused Global Warming on Earth and could have dire consequences for the survival of the human species in the near future. Recent analysis of spectroscopic imagery taken from space shows massive melting of the Martian polar ice caps at a rate that alarmed the scientists. The increased Greenhouse effect noticed by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) specialists in the past decade is at the cause of this dramatic increase in the warming of the Martian polar ice caps, claims the NASA study. Earth's increased Greenhouse Effect deflects Earth’s Greenhouse Effect deflects thermal radiation from the sun which then is re-radiated in all directions and towards planets such as Venus and Mars “Why are the Martian polar ice caps suddenly melting so fast?” asks astrophysician Dan Cuttingham, from University of Oxford. “If this cannot be entirely explained by the sun, then this phenomenon must be the direct result of human caused Global Warming” he concedes. If Global Warming skeptics claim the problem stems from the sun itself, the body of peer-reviewed scientific literature and data clearly show that the sun has made little if any contribution to the observed global warming over the past 50+ years.
You have to be kidding. Ah a humor site.
Ah a humor site. "Mars Is Warming, NASA Scientists Report November 1, 2005 James M. Taylor James M. Taylor is senior fellow for environment and energy policy at The Heartland Institute, and... (read full bio) EMAIL Print Email The planet Mars is undergoing significant global warming, new data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) show, lending support to many climatologists' claims that the Earth's modest warming during the past century is due primarily to a recent upsurge in solar energy. Martian Ice Shrinking Dramatically According to a September 20 NASA news release, "for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress." Because a Martian year is approximately twice as long as an Earth year, the shrinking of the Martian polar ice cap has been ongoing for at least six Earth years. The shrinking is substantial. According to Michael Malin, principal investigator for the Mars Orbiter Camera, the polar ice cap is shrinking at "a prodigious rate." "The images, documenting changes from 1999 to 2005, suggest the climate on Mars is presently warmer, and perhaps getting warmer still, than it was several decades or centuries ago," reported Yahoo News on September 20. Solar Link Possible Scientists are not sure whether the Martian warming is entirely due to Mars- specific forces or may be the result of other forces, such as increasing solar output, which would explain much of the recent asserted warming of the Earth as well. Sallie Baliunas, chair of the Science Advisory Board at the George C. Marshall Institute, said, "Pluto, like Mars, is also undergoing warming." However, Baliunas speculated it is "likely not the sun but long-term processes on Mars and Pluto" causing the warming. However, until more information is gathered, Baliunas said, it is difficult to know for sure. Pat Michaels, past president of the American Association of State Climatologists and senior fellow at the Cato Institute, similarly expressed a desire for more information about the Martian climate. "What is the internal dynamic that is warming Mars?" asked Michaels. "Given the fact that there are not a lot of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions on Mars, and given the fact that new research indicates that 10 to 30 percent estimated conservatively of Earth's recent warming is due to increased solar output, the Martian warming may support that new research." Models May Be Wrong The new research mentioned by Michaels is the October 2 release of findings by Duke University scientists that "at least 10 to 30 percent of global warming measured during the past two decades may be due to increased solar output rather than factors such as increased heat-absorbing carbon dioxin gas released by various human activities." "The problem is that Earth's atmosphere is not in thermodynamic equilibrium with the sun," Duke associate research scientist Nicola Scafetta explained in a Duke University news release. Moreover, "the longer the time period [that the Earth's atmosphere is not in thermodynamic equilibrium] the stronger the effect will be on the atmosphere, because it takes time to adapt." Examining a 22-year interval of reliable solar data going back to 1980, the Duke scientists were able to filter out shorter-range effects that can influence surface temperatures but are not related to global warming. Such effects include volcanic eruptions and ocean current changes such as El Niño. Applying their long-term data, the Duke scientists concluded, "the sun may have minimally contributed about 10 to 30 percent of the 1980-2002 global surface warming." "[Greenhouse] gases would still give a contribution, but not so strong as was thought," Scafetta observed. Several Forces Affect Temperature "We don't know what the sun will do in the future," Scafetta added. "For now, if our analysis is correct, I think it is important to correct the climate models so that they include reliable sensitivity to solar activity." Iain Murray, senior fellow and global warming specialist at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said the Mars warming adds another level of uncertainty to claims that the Earth's modest recent warming is a result of human activity. "It is probably too much to claim that any one source is the principal driver of the warming trend on Earth," said Murray. "The number of significant temperature forcings on the climate system grows yearly as we get to know more and more about it, but we really are at a very early stage of our exploration of this very complex system," Murray noted. "If all the estimates are true about the relative effects of forcings like the sun, black carbon, and greenhouse gases, then it is quite possible that we would have been in a sharply cooling phase over recent years were it not for these forcings. In which case, one might say, thank goodness for global warming!" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- James M. Taylor (taylor@heartland.org) is managing editor of Environment & Climate News.
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#6. To: SOSO (#4)
(Edited)
#9. To: redleghunter, All (#6)
You have to be kidding.
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