OMEGA/Mars Express: A new martian atmospheric dust hunter
Yann Leseigneur, Mathieu Vincendon

TL;DR
This paper introduces a new method to monitor Martian atmospheric dust using OMEGA NIR data, revealing dust variability, its relation to global dust storms, and potential links to surface features like RSLs.
Contribution
A novel technique to detect and analyze Martian atmospheric dust using OMEGA NIR data over multiple years, including during global dust storms.
Findings
Dust optical depth varies seasonally and during GDS events.
NIR/TIR dust extinction ratio is approximately 1.8, with size-related variations.
Atmospheric dust correlates with Recurring Slope Lineae activity in the northern hemisphere.
Abstract
While dust is a key parameter of Mars climate, its behaviour from one year to the next can appear erratic. This variability is notably related to Global Dust Storms (GDS) which occur only certain years with different onset, duration and intensity. The interannual variabilities of the dust cycle may notably explain some characteristics of Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL), slope flows once thought to be caused by liquid water. Long-term monitoring of dust dynamics is thus required to better understand surface-atmosphere dust exchanges on Mars. Here we present a new method to detect atmospheric dust as a function of space and time in the OMEGA Near-InfraRed (NIR) dataset. This dataset covers more than three Martian years; it includes the 2007 GDS which seasonality differs from the preceding (2001) and later (2018) GDS. The method is based on the decrease of the atmospheric optical path caused…
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