The Perseverance Rover’s Mastcam-Z Visible Aerosol Optical Depth Record
Description
Cameras on the Perseverance Rover have been used to characterize the Martian sky and contribute to a valuable meteorological record in the northern tropics in and near Jezero crater (77.5°E longitude, 18.4°N latitude). This dataset includes measurements of optical depth via solar images taken by Mastcam-Z in four channels centered at 480, 544, 630, and 880 nm. The measurements were made using solar images and synthetic aperture photometry to determine solar flux. The results show typical Martian seasonal patterns, including several dust storms and ice clouds.
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Steps to reproduce
The optical depth data were derived from solar flux measurements made by the Perseverance Mastcam-Z images of the Sun. Images were calibrated [Bell and Maki, 2021], and the solar flux was measured via synthetic aperture photometry. Optical depth was measured using methods analogous to those of Lemmon et al. [2015; 2024]: the initial top-of-atmosphere flux in each band was estimated based on instrument calibration, a series of Beer-Lambert-Bouguer Law determined the time-varying top-of-atmosphere flux fits, and the optical depths were derived from those fits, each flux measurement, and the solar geometry at the time of the measurement. Preliminary results were discussed in Lemmon et al. [2022]. The dataset includes measurements at 480-, 544-, 630-, and 880-nm wavelengths (corresponding to the Blue, Green, Red, and Infrared columns). A readme.txt file describes the file structure. Bell, J.F., and J.N. Maki (2021). Mars 2020 Mast Camera Zoom Bundle, from Arizona State University Mastcam-Z Instrument Team, calibrated products. Edited by S. Larriva, A. Bailey, A. Hayes, C. Tate, P. Corlies, K. Kinch, M. Merusi, E. Cisneros, K. Paris, M. McAuley, and M.K. Crombie. DOI: 10.17189/q3ts-c749. Lemmon, M.T., M.J. Wolff, J.F. Bell III, M.D. Smith, B. Cantor, and P.H. Smith (2015). Dust aerosol, clouds, and the atmospheric optical depth record over 5 Mars years of the Mars Exploration Rover mission. Icarus 251, 96-111. DOI: 10.1016/j.icarus.2014.03.029. Lemmon, M.T., M.D. Smith, D. Viudez-Moreiras, M. de la Torre-Juarez, A. Vicente-Retortillo, A. Munguira, A. Sanchez-Lavega, R. Hueso, G. Martinez, B. Chide, R. Sullivan, D. Toledo, L. Tamppari, T. Bertrand, J.F. Bell III, C. Newman, M. Baker, D. Banfield, J.A. Rodriguez-Manfredi, J.N. Maki, V. Apestigue (2022). Dust, Sand, and Winds within an Active Martian Storm in Jezero Crater. Geophys. Res. Lett., 49, e2022GL100126. DOI: 10.1029/2022GL100126. Lemmon, M.T., S.D. Guzewich, J.M. Battalio, M.C. Malin, A. Vicente-Retortillo, M.-P. Zorzano, J. Martín-Torres, R. Sullivan, J.N. Maki, M.D. Smith, J.F. Bell III (2024). The Mars Science Laboratory record of optical depth measurements via solar imaging. Icarus, 408, 115821. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115821