Detection of O2 dayglow emission from Mars and the Martian ozone abundance

Abstract

High-resolution spectroscopy of Mars in the vicinity of 1.27 microns has revealed the presence of emission lines of O2 which are interpreted as the result of production of O2(1 delta g) in the ultraviolet photolysis of Martian ozone. In the equatorial region of Mars, the dayglow intensity implies an ozone abundance near 0.2 microatm, which seems consistent with theoretical models which utilize the measured water-vapor abundance. A much larger ozone abundance exists in the atmosphere at high winter latitude, in agreement with direct measurement of ozone absorption performed by the Mariner spacecraft.