Unveiling Water Vapor Transport in the Martian Atmosphere: Unexpected discoveries by NOMAD/TGO

Water is a key component of planetary atmospheres, shaping their climate and habitability. On Earth, Venus or Mars, water vapor drives their atmospheric chemistry, and serves as a crucial indicator for potential habitability. Understanding its transport, condensation/sublimation, and loss to space is essential for planetary evolution. In this context, Mars offers a compelling case. Despite its current cold and dry state, geological evidence suggests a wetter past. Today, on Mars, water vapor exists in trace amounts but plays a crucial role in many chemical and radiative processes.

Until recently, knowledge of the vertical distribution of water vapor was limited to models and column density estimates. With the advent of the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), it has become possible to systematically probe the Martian atmosphere using the solar occultation technique. Already well established on Earth, solar occultations provide detailed information on both the geographic and vertical distribution of trace species such as water vapor.TBD

Fecha y lugar: 09/10/2025 – 12:30 | Salón de Actos
Adrián Brines
Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA-CSIC)