A GCM climate database for Mars: For mission planning and for scientific studies

The construction of a new database of statistics on the climate and environment of the Martian atmosphere is currently under way, with the support of the European Space Agency. The primary objectives of this database are to provide information for mission design specialists on the mean state and variability of the Martian environment in unprecedented detail, through the execution of a set of carefully validated simulations of the Martian atmospheric circulation using comprehensive numerical general circulation models. The formulation of the models used are outlined herein, noting especially new improvements in various schemes to parametrize important physical processes, and the scope of the database to be constructed is described. A novel approach towards the representation of large-scale variability in the output of the database using empirical eigenfunctions derived from statistical analyses of the numerical simulations, is also discussed. It is hoped that the resulting database will be of value for both scientific and engineering studies of Mars' atmosphere and near-surface environment.