Surface energy budget at Curiosity through observations and column modeling

• Published in: Icarus (New York, N.Y. 1962) Vol. 376; p. 114900
• Main Authors: Savijärvi, H.I., Martinez, G.M., Vicente-Retortillo, A., Harri, A.-M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.04.2022
• Subjects: Climate; Mars; Meteorology; Surface; Mars; Climate; Surface; Meteorology
• ISSN: 0019-1035; 1090-2643
• DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2022.114900

Diurnal ground surface temperatures (Tg) and the five major terms of the surface energy budget (SEB) are displayed from hourly Mars Science Laboratory observations and from column model simulations in four contrasting cases along the Curiosity traverse. Tg and the SEB terms are otherwise well simulated on regolith near the landing spot and on rocky Pahrump Hills, but the residual in observation-based SEB (~downwelling longwave radiation) shows unexplained peaks in the morning and evening and simultaneously model-Tg is too cold. Enhanced or diurnally variable crater dust does not help but diurnally variable soil thermal inertia (suggested by Fourier analysis of observed Tg) reduces both defects at both sites. Sand on the steep Namib dune is instead homogeneous, defects here being reduced by taking into account slope effects. Regolith at the 2018 dust storm site appears inhomogeneous, with the SEB terms and Tg relatively well simulated even in this case of extremely heavy dust load. •Surface fluxes and temperatures (Tg) from MSL observations and column simulations are compared.•Peaks in observation-based flux residual and cool biases in model-Tg coexist.•These are shown to be associated with heterogeneity of the ground.•A method to get diurnally variable apparent thermal inertia from the data is introduced.•Slope effects are important on the slant homogeneous Namib sand dune.