Earth Weather Vs.

Mars
Weather

TheweatheronMarsisalientousand
somewhatEarthlikeatthesametime.
OurneighboringRedPlanethasmany
weatherandclimatecharacteristicsthat
makeitadangerousplaceforhumans,
butitalsohasplentyofthingsin
commonwithourhomeplanettomakeit
aninteresting,albeitchallenging,
destination.Inthispamphlet,wewill
diveintothedifferencebetweenthe
weatheronEarthandtheweatheron
Mars!

Where the Weather Data Comes from

WehaveevidenceforEarthandMarsweather.Weather
satellitesareusedtomonitortheweatherandclimateofthe
planets.Satellitescanbepolarorbiting,coveringtheentire
Earthasynchronously,orgeostationary,hoveringoverthe
samespotontheequator.RoversonMarslookingthrough
camerasseeingduststorms.
Meteorologistsareableto
predictthechangesinweatherpatternsbyusingseveral
differenttools.Theyusethesetoolstomeasureatmospheric
conditionsthatoccurredinthepastandpresent,andthey
applythisinformationtocreateeducatedguessesaboutthe
futureweather.

Earth Weather
Vs.
Mars Weather

Photo Examples of Weather

The photo below is of Hurricane Isabel. Credit: NOAA.

Below is a photo of Earth on the left and Mars on the

right. Credit: NASA.

The photo below is a Mars dust storm. Credit: NASA.

Carlos De la Torre

What is Mars' Atmosphere Made

of?

What is the Weather Like on Earth?

What is Earths Atmosphere

Made of?

Ourweathervariesindegreesofbeinghottocold,
wettodry,calmtostormy,andcleartocloudy.On
Earth,thecommonweather

phenomenaincludewind,
cloud,rain,snow,fogandduststorms.Lesscommon
eventsincludenaturaldisasterssuchastornadoes,
hurricanes,typhoonsandicestorms.Almostall
familiarweatherphenomenaoccurinthetroposphere
(thelowerpartoftheatmosphere).

Weatherdoes
occurinthestratosphereandcanaffectweather
lowerdowninthetroposphere,buttheexact
mechanismsarepoorlyunderstood.

Weatheroccursprimarilyduetoairpressure
(temperatureandmoisture)differencesbetweenone
placetoanother.Thesedifferencescanoccurdueto
thesunangleatanyparticularspot,whichvariesby
latitudefromthetropics.Inotherwords,thefarther
fromthetropicsonelies,thelowerthesunangleis,
whichcausesthoselocationstobecoolerduetothe
indirectsunlight.Thestrongtemperaturecontrast
betweenpolarandtropicalairgivesrisetothejet
stream.Weathersystemsinthemidlatitudes,such
asextratropicalcyclonesarecausedbyinstabilitiesof
thejetstreamflow.Weathersystemsinthetropics,
suchasmonsoonsororganizedthunderstorm
systems,arecausedbydifferentprocesses.

Marshasathinatmosphere.Itstoo
thintoeasilysupportlifeasweknowit.
TheatmosphereofMarsisabout100
timesthinnerthanEarth's,anditis95
percentcarbondioxide.

Here'sabreakdownofitscomposition:
Carbondioxide95.32%
Nitrogen2.7%
Argon1.6%
Oxygen0.13%
Carbonmonoxide0.08%
Also,minoramountsof:water,
nitrogenoxide,neon,
hydrogendeuteriumoxygen,krypton
andxenon

Oxygen21%
Nitrogen78%
Argon0.9%
Carbondioxide0.03%
Also,watervapor

Temperaturedifferencescanoccurbecausedifferent
surfaces(suchasoceans,forests,icesheets,or
manmadeobjects)havedifferingphysical
characteristicssuchasreflectivity,roughness,or
moisturecontent.

What is the Weather Like on

Mars?
Marsisanextremelycoldplanetwithan
averagetemperaturearoundminus80
degrees.Temperaturescandiptominus225
degreesaroundthepoles.Periodsofwarmth
arebriefhighscanreach70degreesfora
brieftimearoundNoonattheequatorinthe
summer.
TheresnoneedtoworryaboutrainonMars
ithasntoccurredformillionsofyears.
Withonlytraceamountsofwatervapor,the
planetisadryanddesolateplace.Cloudsdo
form,buttheyareveryhighintheskyandat
thesurface,wherehazeandfogformsasa
resultoftheverysteeplapseratesnearthe
ground.
Giantdustdevilsroutinelykickupthe
oxidizedirondustthatcoversMars'surface.
TheduststormsofMarsarethelargestinthe
solarsystem,capableofblanketingtheentire
planetandlastingformonths.Onetheoryas
towhyduststormscangrowsobigonMars
startswithairbornedustparticlesabsorbing
sunlight,warmingtheMartianatmospherein
theirvicinity.Warmpocketsofairflowtoward
colderregions,generatingwinds.Strong
windsliftmoredustofftheground,whichin
turnheatstheatmosphere,raisingmorewind
andkickingupmoredust.Attimes,iteven
snowsonMars.TheMartiansnowflakes,
madeofcarbondioxideratherthanwater,are
thoughttobeaboutthesizeofredblood
cells.Thenorthandsouthpolarregionsof
Marsarecappedbyice,muchofitmade
fromcarbondioxide,notwater.