Quantifying High‐Frequency Migrating Tides in the Atmosphere of Mars With Observations From EMIRS, Curiosity and Perseverance

Abstract Thermal tides are global oscillations driven by periodic solar heating that strongly influence circulation and vertical coupling in the Martian atmosphere. Previous studies have focused on the first and second migrating harmonics, while recent work has revealed higher‐frequency harmonics in surface pressure records. However, these detections are limited to single locations, and spacecraft observations have only confirmed global structure up to the third harmonic. Here, we present the first planetary‐scale characterization of migrating thermal tides up to the eighth harmonic as observed in remotely sensed temperature observations from the Emirates Mars Mission, sampling the lower atmosphere, and surface pressure measurements from the Curiosity and Perseverance landers. We examine the latitudinal and seasonal structure and show that high‐frequency migrating tides have deep vertical structure with little phase variation with height, suggestive of near‐resonant Lamb wave structure. Nearly identical seasonal amplitude‐phase evolution across the longitudinally separated landers, indicate dominance of migrating tides.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2026-02-12
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl118933
Primary Topic
Planetary Science and Exploration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Quantifying High‐Frequency Migrating Tides in the Atmosphere of Mars With Observations From EMIRS, Curiosity and Perseverance

Aishwarya Kumar, A. S. Brecht, R. John Wilson, Scott L. England
Geophysical Research Letters
Planetary Science and Exploration
article

Quantifying High‐Frequency Migrating Tides in the Atmosphere of Mars With Observations From EMIRS, Curiosity and Perseverance

Aishwarya Kumar, A. S. Brecht, R. John Wilson, Scott L. England
article en

Abstract

Abstract Thermal tides are global oscillations driven by periodic solar heating that strongly influence circulation and vertical coupling in the Martian atmosphere. Previous studies have focused on the first and second migrating harmonics, while recent work has revealed higher‐frequency harmonics in surface pressure records. However, these detections are limited to single locations, and spacecraft observations have only confirmed global structure up to the third harmonic. Here, we present the first planetary‐scale characterization of migrating thermal tides up to the eighth harmonic as observed in remotely sensed temperature observations from the Emirates Mars Mission, sampling the lower atmosphere, and surface pressure measurements from the Curiosity and Perseverance landers. We examine the latitudinal and seasonal structure and show that high‐frequency migrating tides have deep vertical structure with little phase variation with height, suggestive of near‐resonant Lamb wave structure. Nearly identical seasonal amplitude‐phase evolution across the longitudinally separated landers, indicate dominance of migrating tides.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 53(4)
Ames Research Center (US), Virginia Tech (US)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission
Life below water
Openalex Percentile: Top 56%
Planetary Science and Exploration
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Quantifying High‐Frequency Migrating Tides in the Atmosphere of Mars With Observations From EMIRS, Curiosity and Perseverance — Aishwarya Kumar, A. S. Brecht, et al. · Geophysical Research Letters (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS