Seasonal Variations of Soil Thermal Conductivity at the InSight Landing Site
Abstract The heat flow and physical properties package measured soil thermal conductivity at the landing site in the 0.03–0.37 m depth range. Six measurements spanning solar longitudes from 8.0° to 210.0° were made and atmospheric pressure at the site was simultaneously measured using InSight's...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL102975 |
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| author | M. Grott S. Piqueux T. Spohn J. Knollenberg C. Krause E. Marteau T. L. Hudson F. Forget L. Lange N. Müller M. Golombek S. Nagihara P. Morgan J. P. Murphy M. Siegler S. D. King D. Banfield S. E. Smrekar W. B. Banerdt |
| author_facet | M. Grott S. Piqueux T. Spohn J. Knollenberg C. Krause E. Marteau T. L. Hudson F. Forget L. Lange N. Müller M. Golombek S. Nagihara P. Morgan J. P. Murphy M. Siegler S. D. King D. Banfield S. E. Smrekar W. B. Banerdt |
| author_sort | M. Grott |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The heat flow and physical properties package measured soil thermal conductivity at the landing site in the 0.03–0.37 m depth range. Six measurements spanning solar longitudes from 8.0° to 210.0° were made and atmospheric pressure at the site was simultaneously measured using InSight's Pressure Sensor. We find that soil thermal conductivity strongly correlates with atmospheric pressure. This trend is compatible with predictions of the pressure dependence of thermal conductivity for unconsolidated soils under martian atmospheric conditions, indicating that heat transport through the pore filling gas is a major contributor to the total heat transport. Therefore, any cementation or induration of the soil sampled by the experiments must be minimal and soil surrounding the mole at depths below the duricrust is likely unconsolidated. Thermal conductivity data presented here are the first direct evidence that the atmosphere interacts with the top most meter of material on Mars. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8375f9df268b4825b7808b60df5fb60e |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-8375f9df268b4825b7808b60df5fb60e2025-08-20T02:04:21ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072023-04-01507n/an/a10.1029/2023GL102975Seasonal Variations of Soil Thermal Conductivity at the InSight Landing SiteM. Grott0S. Piqueux1T. Spohn2J. Knollenberg3C. Krause4E. Marteau5T. L. Hudson6F. Forget7L. Lange8N. Müller9M. Golombek10S. Nagihara11P. Morgan12J. P. Murphy13M. Siegler14S. D. King15D. Banfield16S. E. Smrekar17W. B. Banerdt18German Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research Berlin GermanyJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAGerman Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research Berlin GermanyGerman Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research Berlin GermanyGerman Aerospace Center (DLR) MUSC Space Operations and Astronaut Training Cologne GermanyJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USALaboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD/IPSL/CNRS) Sorbonne Université Paris FranceLaboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique (LMD/IPSL/CNRS) Sorbonne Université Paris FranceGerman Aerospace Center (DLR) Institute of Planetary Research Berlin GermanyJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USADepartment of Geosciences Texas Tech University Lubbock TX USAColorado Geological Survey Colorado School of Mines Golden CO USAVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg VA USAPlanetary Science Institute Tucson AZ USAVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg VA USACornell University Ithaca NY USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAAbstract The heat flow and physical properties package measured soil thermal conductivity at the landing site in the 0.03–0.37 m depth range. Six measurements spanning solar longitudes from 8.0° to 210.0° were made and atmospheric pressure at the site was simultaneously measured using InSight's Pressure Sensor. We find that soil thermal conductivity strongly correlates with atmospheric pressure. This trend is compatible with predictions of the pressure dependence of thermal conductivity for unconsolidated soils under martian atmospheric conditions, indicating that heat transport through the pore filling gas is a major contributor to the total heat transport. Therefore, any cementation or induration of the soil sampled by the experiments must be minimal and soil surrounding the mole at depths below the duricrust is likely unconsolidated. Thermal conductivity data presented here are the first direct evidence that the atmosphere interacts with the top most meter of material on Mars.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL102975InSightHP3thermal conductivitysoilheat transport |
| spellingShingle | M. Grott S. Piqueux T. Spohn J. Knollenberg C. Krause E. Marteau T. L. Hudson F. Forget L. Lange N. Müller M. Golombek S. Nagihara P. Morgan J. P. Murphy M. Siegler S. D. King D. Banfield S. E. Smrekar W. B. Banerdt Seasonal Variations of Soil Thermal Conductivity at the InSight Landing Site Geophysical Research Letters InSight HP3 thermal conductivity soil heat transport |
| title | Seasonal Variations of Soil Thermal Conductivity at the InSight Landing Site |
| title_full | Seasonal Variations of Soil Thermal Conductivity at the InSight Landing Site |
| title_fullStr | Seasonal Variations of Soil Thermal Conductivity at the InSight Landing Site |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seasonal Variations of Soil Thermal Conductivity at the InSight Landing Site |
| title_short | Seasonal Variations of Soil Thermal Conductivity at the InSight Landing Site |
| title_sort | seasonal variations of soil thermal conductivity at the insight landing site |
| topic | InSight HP3 thermal conductivity soil heat transport |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL102975 |
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