Water vapor in Mars' Arctic: Seasonal and spatial variability

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Abstract
The seasonal and spatial behavior of water vapor in Mars' arctic is described. These data were obtained by the Mars atmosphere water detector (MAWD) instruments on the Viking Orbiters. Maps of the spatial distribution of water vapor throughout the spring and summer, high resolution one‐dimensional scans, and seasonal histories of selected areas are presented. Peak water vapor amounts in excess of 100 precipitable microns occur shortly after summer solstice in the region immediately surrounding the permanent cap, at which time there is a great deal of fine‐scale structure in the vapor distribution. It is likely that the large amounts of vapor are derived from a surface or near‐surface frost deposit produced the previous year.