The first Mars thermospheric general circulation model: The Martian atmosphere from the ground to 240 km

The Martian general circulation model (GCM) at the Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD) has been extended up to approximately 240 km and it is now the first GCM to fully simulate the Martian atmosphere from the ground up to the thermosphere. In this paper we summarize the processes that have been added and give a first simple study of the effects of parameterized orographic gravity waves on the zonal mean fields. This first study clearly emphasizes the coupling between the different atmospheric regions and notes the importance of having fully coupled models to simulate the atmosphere of Mars. Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.