JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 115, E09005, doi:10.

1029/2009JE003542, 2010

A new interpretation of Mars aerobraking variability:

Planetary wave‐tide interactions
Y. Moudden1 and J. M. Forbes1
Received 18 November 2009; revised 23 April 2010; accepted 29 April 2010; published 16 September 2010.
[1] This study presents a new interpretation of Mars aerobraking density observations
in terms of planetary wave‐tide interactions. Mars Global Surveyor and Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter provide invaluable information about tidal activity in the lower
thermosphere of Mars through the longitude structure that they reveal in near‐Sun‐
synchronous frame of reference. However, this same perspective does not permit one to
uncover the origins of day‐to‐day variability of these structures. Herein, by employing
a new arrangement of the data and understanding the relationship between spectral
features in longitude space versus UT space, we are able to attribute a significant
amount of density variability in the aerobraking region to the effect of tidal modulation
by planetary waves in the 5–20 day period range.
Citation: Moudden, Y., and J. M. Forbes (2010), A new interpretation of Mars aerobraking variability: Planetary wave‐tide
interactions, J. Geophys. Res., 115, E09005, doi:10.1029/2009JE003542.

1. Introduction (2–20 days) are known to exist and are attributable to plan-
etary wave modulations of tidal components and the side-
[2] Solar thermal tides represent an important mechanism
band (“sum” and “difference”) waves that are generated by
for vertically coupling the lower, middle, and upper atmo-
planetary wave‐tide nonlinear interactions [Beard et al.,
spheres of Earth and Mars [e.g., Forbes and Garrett, 1979;
1999; Cevolani and Kingsley, 1992; Kamalabadi et al.,
Moudden and Forbes, 2008a; Forbes and Miyahara, 2006].
1997; Palo et al., 1999; Pancheva, 2000; Teitelbaum and
Because the rotation rates of Earth and Mars are so close,
Vial, 1991]. The interaction referred to here arises because
atmospheric tides on the two planets share many similarities
of the nonlinear advection of momentum and heat in the
[Lindzen, 1970]. In Earth’s atmosphere, insolation absorp-
presence of independently generated vertically propagating
tion by tropospheric water vapor and stratospheric ozone
waves at or below the altitude of interest. For instance,
excite vertically propagating diurnal and semidiurnal tides,
consider the interaction of the migrating semidiurnal tide
respectively, that are dominated by a Sun‐synchronous (SW2) with the quasi 2 day wave (QTDW). The QTDW is a
component that “migrates” westward at the speed of the Sun
mesospheric oscillation common to the summer season of
to a ground‐based observer. Local time variations due to
each hemisphere and is traditionally thought to be a west-
migrating tides are invariant with longitude. Insolation
ward propagating Rossby normal mode [Salby, 1981a,
absorption by dust on Mars excites a vertically propagating
1981b] with s = 3. The SW2‐QTDW interaction consists of a
semidiurnal tide with attributes similar to the ozone‐forced
2 day modulation of SW2 or, equivalently, two sideband or
tide in Earth’s atmosphere [Leovy and Zurek, 1979; Forbes
secondary (“sum” and “difference”) oscillations: a westward
and Miyahara, 2006]. Important “nonmigrating” tides in
propagating wave with a 9.6 h period and s = 5 and a
Earth’s atmosphere are forced by latent heating due to deep
16 h period eastward propagating wave with s = −1. These
tropical convection, which is strongly influenced by the
sidebands have been observed in wind spectra of the meso-
land‐sea distribution [Forbes et al., 2001] in much the same sphere and lower thermosphere [e.g., Cevolani and Kingsley,
way that Mars’ topography modulates the excitation of
1992] and, moreover, have been simulated within a terrestrial
thermal tides near its surface [Conrath, 1976; Zurek, 1976;
general circulation model (GCM) [Palo et al., 1999] and
Moudden and Forbes, 2008b]. shown to propagate well into the thermosphere as indepen-
[3] Another shared characteristic of Earth’s and Mars’
dent oscillations above the region of excitation.
atmospheres is that planetary waves do not propagate above
[4] Given that traveling planetary waves and thermal tides
∼100 km because of mean wind filtering and dissipation of
are also known to exist in Mars’ atmosphere [Banfield et al.,
these low‐frequency waves. However, in Earth’s thermo-
2004; Wilson et al., 2002; Collins et al., 1995; Wilson, 2002;
sphere and ionosphere, oscillations at planetary wave periods
Forbes and Hagan, 2000], one might ask what the analogous
situation might be for Mars’ atmosphere above 100 km.
1
Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of
[5] There is an extensive amount of study devoted to the
Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA. observation and simulation of planetary waves in Mars’
atmosphere. Both Viking landers showed a consistent pattern
Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union. of two dominating periods in planetary waves (PWs).
0148‐0227/10/2009JE003542

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E09005 MOUDDEN AND FORBES: WAVES INTERACTION ON MARS
According to Barnes [1980a, 1980b], these landers show a
dominating period in the range of 2–3 Martian solar days
(sols) and a secondary period in the range of 6–7 sols with
zonal wave numbers between 1 and 4. The Thermal Emis-
sion Spectrometer’s (TES) [Christensen et al., 1998] tem-
perature profiles helped in the understanding of the
longitudinal and vertical structures of PWs. Banfield et al.
[2004] detected a clear dominance of the zonal wave num-
ber 1 in the TES profiles. Other zonal wave numbers (2 and 3)
are confined near the surface with negligible amplitudes in
the rest of the atmosphere. According to Banfield et al.
[2004], the strongest PWs have their highest amplitudes
around the winter polar jet near the northern winter solstice
(solar longitude (Ls) = 270°). These waves with amplitudes
up to 20 K are mostly located at high latitudes and extend
vertically with periods ranging from 2.5 to 30 sols.
[6] Our knowledge of thermal tides in Mars’ aerobraking
region (∼100–160 km) is largely due to measurements of
longitudinal variations in density, as viewed from Sun‐
synchronous orbit, which are now generally attributed to
nonmigrating thermal tides [Wilson, 2002; Forbes and
Hagan, 2000]. Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) accelerometer measure-
ments revealed that the Martian thermospheric densities
undergo up to 30%–50% orbit‐to‐orbit variability [Tolson
et al., 1999, 2008] and 15%–20% day‐to‐day variability
[Withers et al., 2003]. Specifically, one might ask what
sort of density variability exists in Mars’ aerobraking
region owing to planetary wave modulation of tides? In
this paper, through analysis of MGS and MRO aerobraking
densities, we demonstrate that sideband waves exist near
“tidal” spectral peaks in the longitude domain as would be
expected from planetary wave‐tide interactions.
2. Principles of Wave Interaction
[7] Solar thermal tidal oscillations of various quantities
(e.g., temperature, density, wind) in Mars’ and Earth’s
atmospheres are generally represented in the form cos(nWt +
sl), where l denotes the longitude, W is the planetary rota-
tion frequency, s is the zonal wave number, and t is time;
here n = 1, 2, and 3 corresponds to diurnal, semidiurnal, and
terdiurnal tides, respectively. In this notation, and where s
can be positive or negative, the phase speed −nW/s > 0 (< 0)
corresponds to eastward (westward) zonal propagation. The
special case s = n corresponds to a phase speed of −W, which
is the westward migration speed of the Sun to a ground‐
based observer. These Sun‐synchronous tides are referred to
as “migrating” tides, whereas the remainder are called
“nonmigrating” tides. The same notation applies to a plan-
etary wave: cos(dWt + ml) describes a single planetary wave
having a frequency d (per sol) and a zonal wave number m.
Since planetary waves have larger periods than tides, d is
expected to be less than 1 (d < 1 usually d
1) which is the suitable for searching for any PW‐tide interaction signatures.
frequency of the diurnal tides (1 cycle per sol). The modu-
lation of tides by the slower (in terms of phase speed)
planetary waves is expected to yield secondary waves in the
following manner:
½cosð
Wt þ mÞ cosðnWt þ sÞ ¼ 1=2 cos½ðn þ
ÞWt þ ðs þ mÞ
þ1=2 cos½ðn 
ÞWt þ ðs  mÞ: latitudes were mostly in the 40°N–60°N band, and the local
2 of 8
E09005
In the above, one can see that the produced waves have the
sums and differences of the time frequencies and zonal wave
numbers, respectively, as their proper frequencies and zonal
wave numbers. When the planetary wave has a relatively
long period (d
1), n + d and n − d are usually very close to
n. In a time‐frequency spectrum, the secondary waves appear
as two sidebands on either side of the tide with a shift in
frequency equal to the planetary wave’s frequency d. It is
these frequency shifts that indicate nonlinear interaction, a
feature not captured in classical tidal theory.
[8] In a local time frame,

t‘ ¼ t þ sol; ð1Þ
2
a tide of the form cos(nWt + sl) appears as a wave of the
form
cosðnWt‘ þ ðs  nÞÞ; ð2Þ
with a zonal wave number s − n. A secondary wave pro-
duced by a planetary wave‐tide interaction appears as a
wave of the form
cos½ðn 
ÞWt‘ þ ðs  m  n 
Þ; ð3Þ
where s ± m − n ∓ d is the apparent zonal wave number in a
constant local time frame.
[9] In the above, one can see the equivalency between
time and longitude in a fixed local time configuration.
Spectral analysis of a field containing waves of the form in
(2) or (3) equally informs us about n and s and therefore the
time and longitude features of the wave. It can also be
directly seen in (1), where time and longitude are propor-
tional to each other while local time is constant. This time‐
longitude equivalency allows us to transition seamlessly
between time and longitude and affects the wording used in
this paper.
[10] Throughout the remainder of this paper, we utilize the
notation DWs or DEs to denote a westward or eastward
propagating diurnal tide, respectively, with zonal wave
number s. For semidiurnal and terdiurnal oscillations, “S”
and “T” replace “D.” The standing oscillations are denoted
D0, S0, and T0. Planetary waves are abbreviated as PWs.
The secondary waves resulting from a tide’s modulation by
a planetary wave are indicated by adding superscript plus
and minus to the tide’s abbreviation. For example, DW1+
and DW1− refer to the secondary waves produced by the
diurnal migrating tide having a frequency of 1 + d and 1 − d,
respectively.
3. Signature of Wave Interaction in MGS
Aerobraking Densities
[11] Aerobraking densities are currently the only data sets
MGS density observations used in this study were collected
during the aerobraking phase of the MGS spacecraft
[Keating et al., 1998], which required more than 1200 orbits
to bring the apoapsis to the desired altitudes. The phase I
portion of the aerobraking lasted for about 200 orbits, the
periapsis (the closest the spacecraft comes to the planet)
E09005 MOUDDEN AND FORBES: WAVES INTERACTION ON MARS E09005

the pseudolongitude lp defined as lp = l + c × 2p, where

c is the number of times the entire planet (all longitudes) has
been covered by MGS or the number of MGS cycles. In
other words, an increment of 2p is added to the real long-
itudes every time the initial longitude (that of the first orbit
in the time series) is crossed again by MGS. This allows us
to construct long time series that are only limited by the
aerobraking duration. Here we intentionally use “time
series” instead of “pseudolongitude series,” as time and
pseudolongitude are equivalent, as explained above. Aero-
braking data sets are naturally long enough to permit the
detection of PW frequencies; here we simply allow long-
itudes to extend beyond 360°, which is merely an alternate
geographical choice.
[14] We also limit the data used here to altitudes that are
within 20 km of the periapsis altitude and within 40 min of
1450 LST which limits the used orbits to 730–1105 (see
Figure 1). The combination of these restrictions on time and
altitude with the slow orbit precession explains the latitude‐
dependent length of the data set in Figure 2.
[15] Periapsis altitude remained between 110 and 115 km
during the first half of phase II then shifted to altitudes
between 100 and 110 km in the second half. MGS accel-
erometer measurements were performed during entry to and
exit from the atmosphere, and the inferred densities are valid
Figure 1. Periapsis altitude, local time, and latitude during
at all altitudes between the periapsis and about 160 km. All
MGS phase 2 aerobraking. The x axis represents the aero-
the densities are normalized to a uniform 115 km altitude
braking orbit number. Orbits 600 and 1100 correspond to
using a hydrostatic extrapolation with a constant scale
Ls = 36 and 84, respectively.
height of 7 km. The choice of the scale height appears to be
of secondary importance with regard to the accuracy of the
resulting density field [see also Moudden and Forbes,
time gradually increased from 1100 to 1600 local solar time
2008b; Wang et al., 2006]. Aside from the vertical extrap-
(LST). During phase II of aerobraking (roughly orbits 600 to
olation, the data were not processed in any other way.
1200), the orbit remained nearly Sun‐synchronous, and the
Figure 2 shows the resulting data set. In Figure 2, each
local time remained within 2 h of 1500 LST. The periapsis
increment of 1 along the x axis corresponds to complete
latitude moved gradually from 60°N to near the South Pole,
coverage in longitude of the planet. Figure 2 can also be
and for a small number of orbits at the end of aerobraking,
seen as a multitude (20 in this case) of planetwide density
the periapsis was located in the nightside of the planet south
maps condensed and juxtaposed into one plot. The lengths
of 60°S. In this study we restrict our attention to the dayside
of the obtained time series, roughly between 10 and 20 sols,
data where the local time is nearly constant over a broad
depending on the latitude, permit the detection of wave-
latitude range.
lengths shorter than 10–20 sols or frequencies d higher than
[12] Since the orbit is nearly Sun‐synchronous, the pattern
0.05–0.1 sol−1. This latitude‐dependent length is a combi-
introduced by any PW‐tide interactions follows the wave
nation of the orbits slow precession (see Figure 1) and that
expression in (3), where the only variable is the longitude l
some latitudes benefit more than others from the inbound
(the local time t‘ is constant). The spectral analysis of a field
and outbound portions of the orbit. Certainly, longer series
containing waves of the type described in (3) yields the
would be more desirable, but then we would be forced to
different values of s ± m − n ∓ d. In the case where no
relax the restrictions on local time and altitude (within
interaction takes place, the term s ± m − n ∓ d becomes s − n,
40 min of 1450 LST and 20 km of periapsis). In Figure 2,
which is the apparent zonal wave number of the tide in a
there is a clear dominance of wave number 1 (1 oscillation
constant local time configuration (2). If any PW‐tide inter-
every 360° in pseudolongitude) south of the equator and a
action occurs, this apparent zonal wave number is shifted by
gradual increase of absolute densities from south to north.
m and d. Since d is the only noninteger in the sum, interac-
[16] Figure 3 shows individual density time series at three
tions will appear in the spectral analysis of (3) as slightly
separate latitudes 25°N, 36°S, and 70°S (Figures 3a, 3c,
shifted lines from integer values (s ± m − n).
and 3e) and their spectra (Figures 3b, 3d, and 3f). The spectra
[13] There is another issue that comes from attempting to
are obtained using the least squares method [Vaníček, 1969,
analyze aerobraking data for the detection of PW‐tide
1971], which is more adaptable than the Fourier transform
interactions. In order to resolve d, the density time series has
for nonuniformly spaced and gaped data. The horizontal line
to be at least as long as 1/d sol, and the covered longitude
in every spectrum plot indicates a critical percentage vari-
interval has to be at least 1/d × 2p. Since d represents the
ance at a 95% confidence level for detecting significant
frequencies of the PW, the length of the longitude series
peaks in the spectrum. Figure 3b which represents the
needs to be 10 × 2p in order to resolve a 10 sol PW and 20 ×
spectrum of Figure 3a shows that the most likely value for d
2p in order to resolve for a 20 sol period. We thus introduce
is 1/9 sol−1. This is apparent in the multiple sidebands (six in

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E09005 MOUDDEN AND FORBES: WAVES INTERACTION ON MARS E09005

Figure 2. Constructed MGS aerobraking density map from a succession of 360° longitude maps in the
near‐Sun‐synchronous portion of aerobraking (see Figure 1). Each increment of 1 along the x axis
corresponds to a complete coverage of Mars in longitude by MGS.

Figure 3. (left) Three density times series at selected latitudes extracted from the data set in Figure 2 and
(right) their spectral analysis. The dominant planetary wave frequency in each spectrum is represented by d.

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E09005 MOUDDEN AND FORBES: WAVES INTERACTION ON MARS
Table 1. Possible Tides Seen as Major Peaks (Integer Values) in
Figure 3
s−n
0 1 2 3 4
a
DW1 D0 DE1 DE2 SE2
SW2a SW1 S0 SE1
TW3a TW1
a
Migrating tides.
total) that flank the different integers (0, 1, 2, and 3) and
correspond to a shift in frequency equal to 1/9 sol−1.
Although the spectrum is of a pseudolongitude series and
the frequency should be 1/9 (2p)−1, we use sol−1 as a unit
since time and pseudolongitude are equivalent, as explained
above. This indicates the likely presence of a planetary wave
of a period of 9 sols, either locally or in remote regions. The
sidebands can either be a signature of the PW itself, in
which case we are dealing with a locally and directly
observed PW, or, more likely, an interaction that takes
places at lower altitudes with solar tides, in which case the
sidebands are a signature of the interaction. In the first case
(local PW presence), the frequency corresponding to the
sideband informs us about the values of m − d; in the second
case (remote PW interaction), it informs us about the pos-
sible values of s ± m − n ∓ d. Since we have no way of
independently inferring the value of m (the PW’s zonal
wave number), we cannot determine which sidebands, if
any, are due to a local presence of a PW; m = 0, ±2, or ±3
are all possible values in Figure 3b. Since the simultaneous
presence of several PWs with different zonal wave numbers
m and exactly the same period (9 sols) is unlikely, we
deduce that at least some of the sidebands are the result of
PW‐tide interactions that take place remotely at lower alti-
tudes and propagate to aerobraking altitudes. We thus know
that some and probably most of the sidebands are a measure
of s ± m − n ∓ d. The issue remains that this is largely
an underdetermined problem; that is, we know the values of
s ± m − n ∓ d, and consequently, we know the values of s ±
m − n (since d is the only noninteger), which constitutes a
single piece of information for three unknowns: s, m, and n.
So delineating the individual parent waves responsible for
the sidebands is mathematically not possible.
[17] We do, however, know the different tides responsible
for major integer peaks in Figure 3 and the ones likely to
produce the sidebands. Table 1 shows the dominant tides at
higher altitudes in the atmosphere of Mars likely to produce
the major tidal peaks in Figure 3 [Moudden and Forbes,
2008b]. Table 2 shows the possible tides responsible for
the sidebands in the case of m = −1 as given by Banfield
et al. [2004]. The s ± m − n values in Table 2 represent
the integer values in the x axes of Figures 3b, 3d, and 3f. The
s − n values indicate the apparent zonal wave number in a
Sun‐synchronous frame of the tides involved in possible
interactions (assuming that m = −1). Note that tides that
produce a major peak are not the ones producing the side-
bands in this case where m = −1. It is important to know that
the migrating tides which produce a value of s − n = 0
cannot be seen in Figures 3b, 3d, and 3f since they con-
tribute to the average value which is usually higher. The
5 of 8
E09005
right sideband at 1 + d in Figures 3d and 3f can, however, be
attributed to PW interaction with migrating tides.
[18] Figure 3d shows the spectrum of MGS densities at
36°S shown in Figure 3c. Here again all sidebands point to a
shift in frequency equal to 1/9 sol−1. The zonal wave
number of the PW is more likely to be m = 0 or m = ±1. This
of course assumes that the PW has a direct signature in the
spectrum through a local presence. We actually have no way
to determine that without other observations. There are
multiple sidebands surrounding the frequency 1, and they all
correspond to successive increments of d = 1/9 sol−1. Mul-
tiple sidebands of the same frequency could be due to a
strong PW’s autointeraction, in which case m = ±1, or to a
PW’s interaction with strong secondary waves. At 70°S, the
shift in frequency is equal to 1/8 sol−1 (Figure 3f). We need
to point to the importance of the length of the density series. It
is about 11 × 2p in Figure 3e and about 15 × 2p in Figures 3a
and 3c. This length directly affects the aptitude of the least
squares spectral analysis to accurately resolve small fre-
quencies. Theoretically, the cutoff frequency in Figure 3f is
about 1/11 sol−1 which is very close to the targeted fre-
quencies here (1/8 or 1/9 sol−1), and it is possible that all the
frequency shifts in Figures 3b, 3d, and 3f are produced by
the same planetary wave.
4. Signature of Wave Interaction in MRO
Aerobraking Densities
[19] The MRO aerobraking experiment offers similar
density data sets to MGS and an additional opportunity to
search for PW‐tide interactions. Densities used in this study
were collected during the main phase of aerobraking that
lasted nearly 5 months and 500 orbits. Figure 4 shows the
altitude, local time, and latitude of the periapsis of each
orbit. The altitude remained between 100 and 110 km, and
starting from orbit 197, the local time was between 0300
and 0320 LST. During the same period, the latitude pro-
gressively shifted from 80°S to 7°S. These important orbit
features allowed us to construct near‐Sun‐synchronous
density maps that cover the southern hemisphere. As was
done with the MGS densities, successive MRO passes were
used to construct longer density series suitable for the
detection of multisol period waves. All densities measured
within 20 km of periapsis are used and normalized to an
altitude of 100 km. The resulting density map is shown in
Figure 5. Figure 5 is similar to Figure 2 and can be regarded
as a continuous succession of individual maps each cover-
ing 360°in longitude.
[20] The result of the spectral analysis at three represen-
tative latitudes (30°S, 59°S, and 75°S) is shown in Figure 6.
As the length of the density series increases from Figures 6a,
6c, and 6e (see Figure 5), the spectral resolution improves
accordingly (Figures 6b, 6d, and 6f). Contrary to MGS
Table 2. Possible Tides Responsible for Producing the Sidebands
in Figure 3
s±m−n=1 s±m−n=2 s±m−n=3
s−n=0 s−n=2 s−n=1 s−n=3 s−n=2 s−n=4
− −
DW1 +
DE1 D0 +
DE2 DE1 +
SE2−
SW2+ S0− SW1+ SE1− S0+
TW3+ TW1− TW1+
E09005 MOUDDEN AND FORBES: WAVES INTERACTION ON MARS
Figure 4. Periapsis altitude, local time, and latitude during
MRO aerobraking. The x axis represents the aerobraking
orbit number. Orbits 200 and 445 correspond to Ls = 84.5
and 99.5, respectively.
densities where a single PW frequency seems to be dominant,
the spectral analysis of MRO densities shows a multitude of
different frequencies. In Figure 6b, most of the sidebands
point to a frequency of d = 1/6 sol−1 or d = 1/7 sol−1; these are
likely to be a signature of the same PW given that the density
series is relatively short (∼8.5 × 2p). As with the above MGS
analysis, the existence of sidebands in the vicinity of more
than one integer (1, 2, and 3 in Figure 6b) can only be
explained by the occurrence of PW‐tide interactions. It also
Figure 5. Constructed MRO aerobraking density map from a succession of 360° longitude maps in the
near‐Sun‐synchronous portion of aerobraking (see Figure 4). Each increment of 1 along the x axis
corresponds to a complete coverage of Mars in longitude by MRO.
6 of 8
E09005
appears from the existence of multiple sidebands at all integer
values except for 0 that there is a relatively strong PW with a
period near 7 sols. Two additional frequencies d = 1/10 sol−1
and d = 1/4 sol−1 point to the simultaneous existence of other
PWs at the same latitudes; the associated sidebands could be a
direct observation of PWs present at the aerobraking alti-
tudes, in which case they are standing PWs (m = 0), or the
result of interactions taking place at lower altitudes, in which
case s ± m − n = 0 (underdetermined problem).
[21] In Figures 6d and 6f, a multitude of other PW fre-
quencies appear: 1/5, 1/6, 1/8, 1/9, 1/11, and 1/14 sol−1. It is
remarkable that a PW with a period of 14 sols is detected
and appears to be dominant at 75°S at this time of year.
Similar longer PWs could be present at other latitudes or
during MGS aerobraking, but it should be stressed that
Figure 6e is the only density series long enough to permit
the detection of such PWs.
5. Summary and Conclusions
[22] This paper presents the first evidence of PW‐tide
interactions in the atmosphere of Mars. Using a new
method, we are able to exploit MGS and MRO aerobraking
data in order to extract frequencies at PW order of magni-
tude. The existence of a multitude of frequency shifts at the
main tidal peak can only be attributed to PW‐tide interac-
tions which are capable of exciting new tide‐like waves.
Because of the nature and size of aerobraking data, many
questions remain unanswered. (1) Although we detected
many PW frequencies, we are unable to know if these PWs
have any local presence at aerobraking altitudes or to deduce
their zonal wave number or other features. (2) The sidebands
are unequivocally the result of PW‐tide interactions, but we
are still unable to determine the individual tides involved in
these interactions. (3) Questions remain as to the nature and
properties of the secondary waves, altitude of excitation,
propagation, and relative contribution to the variability at
aerobraking altitudes. We intend to explore all of these
questions using numerical experiments within the context of
E09005 MOUDDEN AND FORBES: WAVES INTERACTION ON MARS E09005

Figure 6. (left) Three density series at selected latitudes extracted from the data set in Figure 5 and
(right) their spectral analysis.

a GCM that reasonably emulates the observed longitude
structures of nonmigrating tides [Moudden and Forbes,
2008b].
[ 23 ] Acknowledgment. This work was supported under grant
NNX09AH53G from the NASA Mars Data Analysis Program to the Uni-
versity of Colorado at Boulder.
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J. M. Forbes and Y. Moudden, Department of Aerospace Engineering
Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO 80309, USA.
(youssefmoudden@gmail.com)