With this award, Dr. Robert Novak of Iona College intends to o Continue seasonal investigations of Mars atmospheric ozone and water o Determine the seasonal and latitudinal variation of D/H in the Martian atmosphere o Determine isotopic ratios for carbon and oxygen in atmospheric carbon monoxide
These investigations will provide useful scientific information for theoreticians who are modeling Mars' atmosphere and for a future space mission. The first investigation is a continuation of a current NSF grant (AST-0205397) that will map atmospheric ozone and water throughout an entire Martian year. The goal is to produce two maps for each of the four seasons on Mars. The early northern spring date should be especially interesting since the ozone level is believed to be rapidly increasing during that time of the year. The second investigation, a determination of the deuterium to hydrogen ratio, is based on preliminary work that indicates that this ratio changes considerably from north to south and from one season to the next. The preliminary investigations will expand into a full study. Likewise, preliminary investigations have shown that isotopic forms of carbon monoxide (13C16O, 12C17O, and 12C18O) can be clearly detected. These investigations will be conducted using a high resolution infrared spectrometer (such as CSHELL) on a ground based telescope (such as NASA's IRTF). The ozone values have been and would be used by atmospheric modelers to obtain a better understanding of the dynamics of the Martian atmosphere. The D/H measurements will give better insights into the history of the Mars atmosphere and will help plan an upcoming mission for a Mars Lander. The isotopic ratio for C and O should solve differences between theory and current observations concerning fractionation factors of these isotopes. The dissemination of this information will be through conference presentations, publications, and direct communication with those requesting this information.
Undergraduate students will participate in all aspects of the project, including, accumulation of data at (or remotely from) a telescope, reduction and analysis of the data taken, and presentation of the results at scientific conferences. Dr. Novak, is a professor of physics; he will apply aspects of this project to the courses he teaches, especially in courses for Liberal Arts and Business majors. He will continue to reach out to the local community by hosting telescope nights, giving talks to local school classes and to local groups such as scout troops and amateur astronomers, and running workshops for local school teachers in planetary astronomy. This award is made through the Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program at NSF. ***
