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The Martian surface environment today is cold and dry, but evidence suggests the planet may have hosted more habitable conditions in the past. Open questions about the evolution of the Martian atmosphere and climate motivate much Mars exploration and science. Recent global-scale observations of the Martian atmosphere combined with models reveal intriguing connections between the lower and upper atmospheres. Here we review the role of atmospheric waves, dust storms and atmospheric loss and discuss how these processes are coupled within the Martian whole atmosphere system. Atmospheric gravity (buoyancy) waves are globally present at all altitudes. The effects of planet-encircling dust storms in the lower atmosphere propagate to the upper atmosphere. The Martian hydrological cycle in which water is exchanged between the surface and atmosphere is coupled to dynamical and radiative processes operating across atmospheric layers. The thermal escape of atomic hydrogen to space, which is thought to be the primary mechanism for the long-term loss of water on Mars, is influenced by atmospheric waves and dust storms. Understanding the coupling among atmospheric waves, dust storms and atmospheric loss processes, and thus a unified understanding of the Martian whole atmosphere system, is essential to understand past and current climate on Mars.Spacecraft observations and climate modelling have revealed how atmospheric waves, dust storms and atmospheric loss processes are coupled throughout the atmosphere of Mars.

For the first time, gravity wave‐induced heating and cooling effects were fully and interactively incorporated into a Martian general circulation model (GCM). Simulations with a comprehensive GCM with an implemented spectral nonlinear gravity wave (GW) parameterization revealed significant thermal effects of GWs in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) between 100 and 150 km. Wave‐induced heating and cooling rates are comparable with those due to near‐IR CO2 heating and IR CO2cooling, correspondingly. Accounting for thermal effects of GWs results in a colder simulated MLT, with the most of cooling taking place in middle‐ and high‐latitudes. In the winter hemisphere, the temperature decrease can exceed 45 K. The colder simulated MLT is in a good agreement with the SPICAM stellar occultation measurements and Mars Odyssey aerobraking temperature retrievals. Our experiments suggest that thermal effects of GWs are probably a key physical mechanism in the MLT missing in contemporary Martian GCMs. Key Points Thermal effects of GWs have been parameterized in a Martian GCM GWs produce a significant cooling above 100 km, well in line with observations These effects are comparable with radiative effects of CO2 and must be accounted

Our recently developed nonlinear spectral gravity wave (GW) parameterization has been implemented into a Martian general circulation model (GCM) that has been extended to ∼130 km height. The simulations reveal a very strong influence of subgrid‐scale GWs with non‐zero phase velocities in the upper mesosphere (100–130 km). The momentum deposition provided by breaking/saturating/dissipating GWs of lower atmospheric origin significantly decelerate the zonal wind, and even produce jet reversals similar to those observed in the terrestrial mesosphere and lower thermosphere. GWs also weaken the meridional wind, transform the two‐cell meridional equinoctial circulation to a one‐cell summer‐to‐winter hemisphere transport, and modify the zonal‐mean temperature by up to ±15 K. Especially large temperature changes occur over the winter pole, where GW‐altered meridional circulation enhances both “middle” and “upper” atmosphere maxima by up to 25 K. A series of sensitivity tests demonstrates that these results are not an artefact of a poorly constrained GW scheme, but must be considered as robust features of the Martian atmospheric dynamics. Key Points Spectral gravity wave parameterization was introduced into a Martian GCM GW turn out to be extremely important in the Martian atmosphere Their dynamical effects are similar to those in the terrestrial mesosphere

The dynamical and thermodynamical importance of gravity waves was initially recognized in the atmosphere of Earth. Extensive studies over recent decades demonstrated that gravity waves exist in atmospheres of other planets, similarly play a significant role in the vertical coupling of atmospheric layers and, thus, must be included in numerical general circulation models. Since the spatial scales of gravity waves are smaller than the typical spatial resolution of most models, atmospheric forcing produced by them must be parameterized. This paper presents a review of gravity waves in planetary atmospheres, outlines their main characteristics and forcing mechanisms, and summarizes approaches to capturing gravity wave effects in numerical models. The main goal of this review is to bridge research communities studying atmospheres of Earth and other planets.

We examine for the first time the propagation of gravity waves (GWs) of lower atmospheric origin to the thermosphere above the turbopause during a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW). The study is performed with the Coupled Middle Atmosphere‐Thermosphere general circulation model and the implemented spectral GW parameterization of Yiğit et al. (2008). Simulations reveal a strong modulation by SSWs of GW activity, momentum deposition rates, and the circulation feedbacks at heights up to the upper thermosphere (∼270 km). Wave‐induced root mean square wind fluctuations increase by a factor of three during the warming above the turbopause. This occurs mainly due to a reduction of filtering eastward traveling harmonics by the weaker stratospheric jet. Compared to nominal conditions, these GW harmonics propagate to higher altitudes and have a larger impact on the mean flow in the thermosphere, when they are dissipated. The evolution of stratospheric and mesospheric winds during an SSW life‐cycle creates a robust and distinctive response in GW activity and mean fields in the thermosphere above the turbopause up to 300 km. Key Points Gravity wave effects are modeled during a stratospheric warming Gravity wave activity and drag increase dramatically in the thermosphere Gravity wave effects in the thermosphere are extremely variable during an SSW

The response of the thermosphere ionosphere system to an X1.3 class solar flare is studied using observations of the total electron content (TEC) and the Global Ionosphere Thermosphere Model (GITM) simulations. The solar flare erupted from the active region AR12975 on 30 March 2022. Owing to the absence of accompanying severe geomagnetic activity, it was possible to isolate the effects of the flare on the upper atmosphere. TEC data are processed for Continental USA (CONUS), employing filtering and binning techniques to create 2D variation maps. The spectral content of the TEC variations is analyzed using a wavelet coherence method. The immediate response of the solar flare exhibited broad similarities, while notable differences were observed during the recovery period between the East and West sides of the CONUS. GITM is used to explore the East–West asymmetry of the key T‐I parameters. Simulation results reveal that the coinciding interplanetary magnetic field southward turning had a greater influence on these parameters compared to the solar flare, while their nonlinear interaction introduced complex variations. Additional investigation reveals gravity wave damping also contributes to the asymmetric solar flare response.

Propagation of internal gravity waves (GWs) from the lower atmosphere into the upper thermosphere, and their dynamical and thermal effects have been studied under low and high solar activity approximated by the F10.7 parameter. It has been done by using a nonlinear spectral parameterization in systematic offline calculations with typical wind and temperature distributions from the HWM and MSISE‐90 models, and with interactive simulations using the University College London Coupled Middle Atmosphere‐Thermosphere‐2 (CMAT2) general circulation model (GCM) under solstice conditions. The estimates have been performed for relatively slow harmonics with horizontal phase velocities less than 100 m s−1, which are not affected by reflection and/or ducting. GW drag and wave‐induced heating/cooling are shown to be smaller below ∼170 km at high solar activity, and larger above. The maxima of GW momentum deposition occur much higher in the upper thermosphere, but their peaks are half as strong, 120 vs 240 m s−1 day−1 in the winter hemisphere when the insolation is large. Instead of strong net cooling in the upper thermosphere, GWs produce a weak heating at high solar activity created by fast harmonics less affected by dissipation. Molecular viscosity increases with solar activity at fixed pressure levels, but seen in Cartesian altitude grids it can either increase or decrease in the lower thermosphere, depending on the height. Therefore, in pressure coordinates, in which most GCMs operate, the influence of larger temperatures can be viewed as a competition between the enhanced dissipation and vertical expansion of the atmosphere.

For the first time, estimates of heating and cooling in the upper thermosphere due to dissipating and breaking gravity waves (GWs) of tropospheric origin have been obtained with a comprehensive general circulation model (GCM). A GW parameterization specifically designed for thermospheric heights has been implemented in the CMAT2 GCM covering altitudes from the tropopause to the F2 region, and simulations for the June solstice have been performed. They reveal that the net thermal effect of GWs above the turbopause is cooling. The largest (up to −170 K d−1 in a zonally and temporally averaged sense) cooling takes place in the high latitudes of both hemispheres near 210 km. The instantaneous values of heating and cooling rates are highly variable, and reach up to 500 and −3000 K d−1 in the F2 region, respectively. Inclusion of the GW thermal effects reduces the simulated model temperatures by up to 200 K over the summer pole and by 100 to 170 K at other latitudes near 210 km.

A nonlinear spectral gravity wave (GW) drag parameterization systematically accounting for breaking and dissipation in the thermosphere developed by Yiğit et al. (2008) has been implemented into the University College London Coupled Middle Atmosphere‐Thermosphere‐2 (CMAT2) general circulation model (GCM). The dynamical role of GWs propagating upward from the lower atmosphere has been studied in a series of GCM tests for June solstice conditions. The results suggest that GW drag is not only nonnegligible above the turbopause, but that GWs propagate strongly into the upper thermosphere, and, upon their dissipation, deposit momentum comparable to that of ion drag, at least up to 180–200 km. The effects of thermospheric GW drag are particularly noticeable in the winter (southern) hemisphere, where weaker westerlies and stronger high‐latitude easterlies are simulated well, in agreement with the empirical Horizontal Wind Model (HWM93). The dynamic response in the F region is sensitive to the variations of the source spectrum. However, the spectra commonly employed in middle atmosphere GCMs reproduce the circulation both in the lower and upper thermosphere reasonably well.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) ice clouds have been routinely observed in the middle atmosphere of Mars. However, there are still uncertainties concerning physical mechanisms that control their altitude, geographical, and seasonal distributions. Using the Max Planck Institute Martian General Circulation Model (MPI-MGCM), incorporating a state-of-the-art whole atmosphere subgrid-scale gravity wave parameterization (Yiğit et al., 2008), we demonstrate that internal gravity waves generated by lower atmospheric weather processes have a wide-reaching impact on the Martian climate. Globally, GWs cool the upper atmosphere of Mars by ∼10 % and facilitate high-altitude CO2 ice cloud formation. CO2 ice cloud seasonal variations in the mesosphere and the mesopause region appreciably coincide with the spatio-temporal variations of GW effects, providing insight into the observed distribution of clouds. Our results suggest that GW propagation and dissipation constitute a necessary physical mechanism for CO2 ice cloud formation in the Martian upper atmosphere during all seasons.