Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

We are using complex 3D models to forecast Martian weather and "air quality". By modifying the Canadian weather forecast model, GEM, we have a tool that can be used to study dynamics or weather on Mars and, because of the zoom capacity of GEM, we are also able to do mesoscale studies important for forecasting conditions for Mars landers such as Phoenix and other planned missions such as ESA's ExoMars mission. On the air quality side we will continue work already started on the chemistry of ozone in the lower atmosphere and CO and O in the thermosphere and compare with measurement from Mars Express and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. We will also initiate new dust studies that should improve our understanding or dust movement and water-ice cloud formation. We will also study changes in the atmosphere that result from condensation at the polar caps. The model will also be useful for design of future Canadian Mars atmospheric experiments. The numbers and type of extra-solar planets keeps growing as observational technology improves. We will continue our collaborative work with the Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris on hot Giant Jupiters found at distances from their stars even closer than Mercury is to the Sun and which orbit their stars in a few days. We are investigating how these planets might evolve into other type of planets such as Neptune or Uranus-like as their hydrogen escapes. Also the expectation that "ocean-planets" may have been observed invites exciting modelling challenges to study their evolution.        With the current suite of satellites and the advent of new satellites in the next 10 years ensures we will have a capacity to make important air quality measurements such as aerosols and ozone. Thus we are entering an era that might be described as "chemical weather forecasting". Thus it will be especially important for Canadian to have access to models of the type that we are developing that can both utilize the data for understanding sources and sinks of emissions and for forecasting.