Giant waves are sweeping Mars’ atmosphere into space
The solar wind may be stripping away Mars’ atmosphere by creating giant rolling waves along its outer edge. Data from MAVEN and Tianwen-1 show that these waves form plasma clouds that carry atmospheric particles into space. The process is concentrated on one side of Mars and may have played a major role in drying out the once potentially habitable planet.
The Sun continuously emits a fast stream of charged particles, known as the solar wind, which Earth largely shields with its magnetic field. Mars, lacking such a protective barrier, allows the solar wind to weaken its upper atmosphere. A new study published in Science Advances reveals that this atmospheric loss resembles the wind motion over water on Earth, creating swirling waves called Kelvin-Helmholtz waves.
Boston University researchers Chi Zhang and his team analyzed data from the MAVEN and Tianwen-1 missions, which measured the incoming solar wind and atmospheric ions escaping Mars. By comparing these datasets, the scientists identified a direct link between Kelvin-Helmholtz waves and increased atmospheric ion escape from Mars, primarily occurring on one side of the planet depending on the solar wind's electric field direction.
The findings provide critical insights into atmospheric escape mechanisms on Mars and other planets lacking a strong magnetic field, potentially shedding light on why Mars transformed from a potentially habitable world to the cold, dry planet we observe today.
Written by urgent.news from ScienceDaily's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
