Work

Cross‐Hemisphere Impacts of Dust Tides on the Martian Atmosphere During the Mars Year 34 Global Dust Storm

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Airborne dust plays a fundamental role in controlling the Martian atmospheric circulation by modulating radiative heating and wave excitation. While previous studies attributed the strengthening and poleward extension of the cross‐equatorial Hadley circulation during dust storms to the overall increase in atmospheric dust loading, the influence of diurnal dust variations (dust tides) has not been explored. Using the general circulation model with prescribed dust distributions, this study investigates the influence of dust tides on global‐scale atmospheric dynamics during the mature stage of the MY34 global dust event. The results demonstrate that dust tides substantially intensify and extend the cross‐equatorial Hadley circulation, leading to a stronger north polar warming. A pronounced dust‐tide‐induced hemispheric difference exists. In the southern hemisphere, dust tides amplify the tidal components of temperature and winds. In the northern hemisphere, however, dust tides enhance the mean meridional circulation through wave–driven forcing on the mean flow. Hough mode analysis reveals that dust tides primarily strengthen the negative meridional‐index components of the diurnal migrating tide, which dominate wave–driven forcing and connect diurnal dust radiative forcing to global circulation. These findings suggest that dust tides are an important dynamical mechanism that not only influences the coupling between regional radiative and tidal processes, but also affects the global transport of momentum and energy by affecting global circulations.

Source: Journal of Geophysical Research Planets

DOI: 10.1029/2025je009550

Authors: Yueming Cheng, Zhaopeng Wu, Yuan Lian, Jun Cui, Yong Wei