Simulating Martian Atmospheric Processes and Local Dust Events with a Global Variable-Resolution Model (iAMAS-Mars)

This study establishes a non-hydrostatic integrated atmospheric model across scales (iAMAS-Mars) and validates its reliability through comparison with various observational datasets. The model performance is systematically evaluated using three sets of experiments: a global uniform resolution of 240 km (U240) and two variable resolution ranging from 240 km to 60 km (V60) and 120 km to 5 km (V5). The results demonstrate that iAMAS-Mars successfully reproduces the main characteristics of the Martian atmosphere: reasonable simulation of seasonal variations in surface pressure and temperature; good representation of the vertical distribution of atmospheric thermal structure and seasonal evolution of zonal wind fields, including winter polar jets and equatorial easterlies; successful simulation of the seasonal transition of Hadley circulation and perihelion enhancement effects; satisfactory reproduction of the CO2 seasonal cycle; and capture of the primary seasonal features of dust activity, including the aphelion clean period and perihelion dusty period structure. Within the selected time range at three kinds of resolution cases, as the resolution increases, the simulation fidelity gradually improves, notably, the 5-km high-resolution variable-mesh simulation successfully captures small-scale dust phenomena in the Utopia Planitia region, revealing the modulation of complex topography on local wind fields and dust-lifting processes. This model provides an effective tool for investigating multi-scale atmospheric processes on Mars.