Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2020
Abstract
The influence of dust devils on the martian atmosphere depends on their capacity to loft dust, which depends on their wind profiles and footprint on the martian surface, i.e., on their radii, ��. Previous work suggests the wind profile depends on a devil’s thermodynamic efficiency, which scales with its height, ℎ. However, the precise mechanisms that set a dust devil’s radius have remained unclear. Combining previous work with simple assumptions about angular momentum conservation in dust devils predicts that �� ∝ ℎ1∕2, and a model fit to observed radii and heights from a survey of martian dust devils using the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera agrees reasonably well with this prediction. Other observational tests involving additional, statistically robust dust devil surveys and field measurements may further elucidate these relationships.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Publication Information
Jackson, Brian. (2020). "On the Relationship Between Dust Devil Radii and Heights". Icarus, 338, 113523-1 - 113523-4. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113523
Comments
Data set information can be found at: https://github.com/BoiseStatePlanetary/Of-Dust-Devils-and-Diameters