Evaluation of the Capability of ExoMars-TGO NOMAD Infrared Nadir Channel for Water Ice Clouds Detection on Mars
As part of the payload of the 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission, the Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD) suite instrument has been observing the Martian atmosphere since March 2018. NOMAD is mainly dedicated to the study of trace atmospheric species taking advantage of a high...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/17/4143 |
| _version_ | 1797493440676626432 |
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| author | Luca Ruiz Lozano Özgür Karatekin Véronique Dehant Giancarlo Bellucci Fabrizio Oliva Emiliano D’Aversa Filippo Giacomo Carrozzo Francesca Altieri Ian R. Thomas Yannick Willame Séverine Robert Ann Carinne Vandaele Frank Daerden Bojan Ristic Manish R. Patel José Juan López Moreno |
| author_facet | Luca Ruiz Lozano Özgür Karatekin Véronique Dehant Giancarlo Bellucci Fabrizio Oliva Emiliano D’Aversa Filippo Giacomo Carrozzo Francesca Altieri Ian R. Thomas Yannick Willame Séverine Robert Ann Carinne Vandaele Frank Daerden Bojan Ristic Manish R. Patel José Juan López Moreno |
| author_sort | Luca Ruiz Lozano |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | As part of the payload of the 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission, the Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD) suite instrument has been observing the Martian atmosphere since March 2018. NOMAD is mainly dedicated to the study of trace atmospheric species taking advantage of a high-spectral resolution. We demonstrate that when NOMAD is observing in nadir mode, i.e., when the line-of-sight points to the centre of Mars, it can be also exploited to detect ice. In this study we present a method based on the investigation of nadir observations of the NOMAD infrared channel, acquired during Mars Years 34 and 35 (March 2018 to February 2021). We take advantage of the strong water ice absorption band at 2.7 µm by selecting the diffraction orders 167, 168, and 169. We derive the Frost and Clouds Index (FCI), which is a good proxy for ice mapping, and obtain latitudinal-seasonal maps for water ice clouds. FCI is sensitive to the Polar Hood clouds. Nevertheless, detections in the Aphelion Cloud Belt (ACB) are limited. This is consistent with previous observations showing different physical properties between the two main Martian atmospheric structures and making the ACB less detectable in the infrared. We hence derive the infrared nadir channel sensitivity limit for the detection of these clouds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:20:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-63c89a1b455e4a1a8784429e141cad30 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:20:00Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-63c89a1b455e4a1a8784429e141cad302023-11-23T14:01:36ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-08-011417414310.3390/rs14174143Evaluation of the Capability of ExoMars-TGO NOMAD Infrared Nadir Channel for Water Ice Clouds Detection on MarsLuca Ruiz Lozano0Özgür Karatekin1Véronique Dehant2Giancarlo Bellucci3Fabrizio Oliva4Emiliano D’Aversa5Filippo Giacomo Carrozzo6Francesca Altieri7Ian R. Thomas8Yannick Willame9Séverine Robert10Ann Carinne Vandaele11Frank Daerden12Bojan Ristic13Manish R. Patel14José Juan López Moreno15Earth and Life Institute, Secteur des Sciences et Technologies, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), 3, Place Louis Pasteur/L4.03.08, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumRoyal Observatory of Belgium (ROB-ORB), B-1180 Brussels, BelgiumEarth and Life Institute, Secteur des Sciences et Technologies, Université Catholique de Louvain (UCLouvain), 3, Place Louis Pasteur/L4.03.08, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, BelgiumIstituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (IAPS-INAF), 00133 Rome, ItalyIstituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (IAPS-INAF), 00133 Rome, ItalyIstituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (IAPS-INAF), 00133 Rome, ItalyIstituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (IAPS-INAF), 00133 Rome, ItalyIstituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (IAPS-INAF), 00133 Rome, ItalyRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), B-1180 Brussels, BelgiumRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), B-1180 Brussels, BelgiumRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), B-1180 Brussels, BelgiumRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), B-1180 Brussels, BelgiumRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), B-1180 Brussels, BelgiumRoyal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), B-1180 Brussels, BelgiumSchool of Physical Sciences, The Open University (OU), Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UKInstituto de Astrofìsica de Andalucía (IAA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), 18008 Granada, SpainAs part of the payload of the 2016 ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) mission, the Nadir and Occultation for MArs Discovery (NOMAD) suite instrument has been observing the Martian atmosphere since March 2018. NOMAD is mainly dedicated to the study of trace atmospheric species taking advantage of a high-spectral resolution. We demonstrate that when NOMAD is observing in nadir mode, i.e., when the line-of-sight points to the centre of Mars, it can be also exploited to detect ice. In this study we present a method based on the investigation of nadir observations of the NOMAD infrared channel, acquired during Mars Years 34 and 35 (March 2018 to February 2021). We take advantage of the strong water ice absorption band at 2.7 µm by selecting the diffraction orders 167, 168, and 169. We derive the Frost and Clouds Index (FCI), which is a good proxy for ice mapping, and obtain latitudinal-seasonal maps for water ice clouds. FCI is sensitive to the Polar Hood clouds. Nevertheless, detections in the Aphelion Cloud Belt (ACB) are limited. This is consistent with previous observations showing different physical properties between the two main Martian atmospheric structures and making the ACB less detectable in the infrared. We hence derive the infrared nadir channel sensitivity limit for the detection of these clouds.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/17/4143MarsMartian atmospherehigh-resolution spectrometerH<sub>2</sub>O ice clouds |
| spellingShingle | Luca Ruiz Lozano Özgür Karatekin Véronique Dehant Giancarlo Bellucci Fabrizio Oliva Emiliano D’Aversa Filippo Giacomo Carrozzo Francesca Altieri Ian R. Thomas Yannick Willame Séverine Robert Ann Carinne Vandaele Frank Daerden Bojan Ristic Manish R. Patel José Juan López Moreno Evaluation of the Capability of ExoMars-TGO NOMAD Infrared Nadir Channel for Water Ice Clouds Detection on Mars Remote Sensing Mars Martian atmosphere high-resolution spectrometer H<sub>2</sub>O ice clouds |
| title | Evaluation of the Capability of ExoMars-TGO NOMAD Infrared Nadir Channel for Water Ice Clouds Detection on Mars |
| title_full | Evaluation of the Capability of ExoMars-TGO NOMAD Infrared Nadir Channel for Water Ice Clouds Detection on Mars |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of the Capability of ExoMars-TGO NOMAD Infrared Nadir Channel for Water Ice Clouds Detection on Mars |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of the Capability of ExoMars-TGO NOMAD Infrared Nadir Channel for Water Ice Clouds Detection on Mars |
| title_short | Evaluation of the Capability of ExoMars-TGO NOMAD Infrared Nadir Channel for Water Ice Clouds Detection on Mars |
| title_sort | evaluation of the capability of exomars tgo nomad infrared nadir channel for water ice clouds detection on mars |
| topic | Mars Martian atmosphere high-resolution spectrometer H<sub>2</sub>O ice clouds |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/17/4143 |
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