Meteorological results from the Global Mars Multiscale Model at the Viking 1 lander site

The present study is a comparison of the local meteorological conditions (pressure, temperature and wind) simulated by the Global Mars Multiscale Model and observed by the Viking lander 1. The model uses a global variable resolution grid with a uniform increased resolution of 20 km in a limited area of 1000 × 1200 km2 centred at the Viking 1 landing site. Local conditions are examined for summer and winter seasons. The model gives an overall satisfactory agreement with the data and the different regimes in the two seasons are relatively well depicted. An attempt is made to understand the origin of the regular daily wind rotation in the summer and the semi-diurnal surface pressure oscillation in the winter. © 2005 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.