MLAM Simulation of Martian Atmosphere around Curiosity Landing Site

The NASA Mars Science Laboratory 'Curiosity' landed successfully in the Martian Gale crater close to the equator on 6 Aug 2012. As part of the environment monitoring instrument package REMS [1] the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) provided the pressure and humidity sensors. A similar pressure sensor was successfully flown earlier on the Phoenix lander mission in 2008 and on the Cassini / Huygens probe to Titan in 2005. The behaviour of the Martian atmosphere inside the Gale crater is dominated by its location close to the equator, the steep outer rims and the slopes of the central mountain. These complex topographical features make it ideally suited for a mesoscale atmospheric model like the Mars Limited Area Model (MLAM), developed jointly by the University of Helsinki (UH) and FMI to study mesoscale phenomena in the Martian Atmosphere [2]. MLAM is based on the hydro-static dynamical core of the HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model (HIRLAM), an operational weather prediction model-analysis system used by several European countries. Using the simulation tools already published observational data from the first three months of Curiosity's operations and detailed topographical feature information we will show the observations in the context of the atmospheric conditions in the wider Gale crater region. In preparation of the simulation also the UH 1-dimensional model [3] is being used to study the boundary layer behaviour in that area. The expected long operation time of the rover will additionally provide insight in the seasonal change of atmospheric conditions at the equator. Some aspects might already become visible by the time of the conference. Newest Curiosity/REMS data will be shown in session PS2.5 "Curiosity on Mars: First results". Reference: [1] Gómez-Elvira J. et al. (2012), Space Sci. Rev. 170, 583-640. [2] Kauhanen, J., Siili T., Järvenoja, S. and Savijärvi, H. (2008) , The Mars Limited Area Model (MLAM) and simulations of atmospheric circulations for the Phoenix landing area and season-of-operation, JGR 113, E00A14 [3] Savijärvi H. Mechanisms of the diurnal cycle in the atmospheric boundary layer of Mars. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 2012;138(663):552-560

The Effect of Microporous Polymeric Support Modification on Surface and Gas Transport Properties of Supported Ionic Liquid Membranes

Microporous polymers based on anionic macroinitiator and toluene 2,4-diisocyanate were used as a support for 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim][PF6]) and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([emim][Tf2N]) immobilization. The polymeric support was modified by using silica particles associated in oligomeric media, and the influence of the modifier used on the polymeric structure was studied. The supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) were tested for He, N2, NH3, H2S, and CO2 gas separation and ideal selectivities were calculated. The high values of ideal selectivity for ammonia-based systems with permanent gases were observed on polymer matrixes immobilized with [bmim][PF6] and [emim][Tf2N]. The modification of SILMs by nanosize silica particles leads to an increase of NH3 separation relatively to CO2 or H2S

Isotope ratios of H, C, and O in CO2 and H2O of the Martian atmosphere

Stable isotope ratios of H, C, and O are powerful indicators of a wide variety of planetary geophysical processes, and for Mars they reveal the record of loss of its atmosphere and subsequent interactions with its surface such as carbonate formation. We report in situ measurements of the isotopic ratios of D/H and O-18/O-16 in water and C-13/C-12, O-18/O-16, O-17/O-16, and (CO)-C-13-O-18/(CO)-C-12-O-16 in carbon dioxide, made in the martian atmosphere at Gale Crater from the Curiosity rover using the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM)'s tunable laser spectrometer (TLS). Comparison between our measurements in the modern atmosphere and those of martian meteorites such as ALH 84001 implies that the martian reservoirs of CO2 and H2O were largely established similar to 4 billion years ago, but that atmospheric loss or surface interaction may be still ongoing