Sketch-up: Snowstorms on Mars

Abstract

The Martian atmosphere has water-ice clouds, and water ice has been detected on the surface. It has been thought that snow on Mars would fall by slow gentle sedimentation of individual ice particles. Instead, Spiga and colleagues use high-resolution weather models to show that convective plumes can form in and below clouds during the cold Martian nights, producing powerful snowstorms.

Additional details