Mars Correct Basic Report - Section 11 (2018 Global Dust Storm)

THE GLOBAL DUST STORM OF 2018.

       When we look at all the weather reports from the REMS Team up until MSL Sol 2082 there are plenty of reasons for great concern about the validity of the data. They are reinforced by the fact that the Jet Propulsion Laboratory pulled down or altered the REMS Team/NASA data on many occasions after Guy Webster, their public relations agent, either heard directly from us by phone or read our reviews of the data – something that we document with before and after print screens of the REMS Team published weather data plus IP address reports for readers.  Most notable was the removal by NASA of all wind data in May 2013 after we called Mr. Webster about the fact that over 9 months their data never changed from 7.2 kph from the East even though the Viking 1 and 2 landers showed changes in wind speed and direction every hour for 8,311 hourly reports. Further, Ashima research, in conjunction with JPL showed impossible (and also never changing) sunrise and sunset times for the same period, but they eventually retracted them all based on our day length calculations. Some the changes to their data based on our suggestions was documented back on Table 3 of this Report.

        Although NASA/JPL is well aware of fundamental flaws to the weather data reported by MSL Curiosity (and earlier landers) amazingly they still offer up ludicrous information. As such, we in turn offer below all MSL data for the Global Dust Storm of 2018. We will then show that the data is likely to be manufactured in particular with respect to pressure measurements which seem to be based on readings in previous years at the same Ls (solar longitude), increases in altitude due to Curiosity climbing Mt. Sharp, but which failed to account for the weight of the dust and how that is likely to contribute to an increase in pressure even though the lander is a little over 200 meters higher than it was in the previous Martian year.

       Figure 40 shows that when the 2018 Global Dust Storm hit MSL that µV levels dropped to low. The figure shows MSL Sols 2082 to 2090. Low µV continued until at least Sol 2139, then appeared intermittently through 2,147. After that the effects of the storm were no longer apparent. Although this storm totally blocked out the sun at MER Opportunity as is shown below on Figure 41, enough sunlight had been blocked at MSL to prevent shadows from being formed, and to obscure many geographic features (see Figure 42). When we saw a similar dust storm on Earth darken Luke Air Force Base pressure rose by at least 6.6 mbar in an hour. Even if we say that gravity on Mars is only 38% of Earth's, an overhead mass of dust with a similar weight should produce an increase in pressure of a least 38% of 6.6 mbar. That's about 2.598 mbar which is 259.8 Pa.

11.1 Pressures Claimed for the 2018 Global Dust Storm. 

      In comparing pressure for the 2018 storm with pressures at MSL in 2016 (the previous Martian year) at the same solar longitude (Ls) we must first consider how the altitude changed as Curiosity climbed Mount Sharp. The (publically available) altitude record in 2018 was adequate, but the record during 2016 for the period of time between Ls 192 and Ls 241 is not available online although NASA has one diagram that is somewhat helpful. In Figure 43 it is modified by us to draw in the information that is available.

       Altitude data, when available, is presented on Table 15A. It I taken from the NASA/JPL web site at https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/mission/whereistherovernow/. For the previous Martian year we are interested in Ls 192 to 241, sols 1412 to 1476. Unfortunately JPL offers a Site 54, Drive 2202, Sol 1353 map (https://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/resources/7848/curiositys-traverse-map-through-sol-1353/) and then no such map until Site 58, Drive 2760 at Sol 1501 (https://mars.nasa.gov/imgs/2016/10/MSL_TraverseMap_Sol1501-full.jpg). Not that during the dust storm the lander climbed 29 meters from 4,192 meters below areoid to 4,163 meters below areoid, then descended 18 meters to 4,181 meters below areoid.

       Let's look at how our Table 15B below covers the 2018 dust storm at MSL. It shows the weather from MSL Sol 2080 (about a day before the storm arrived) up through Sol 2148. The µV dropped from high in Sol 2080 to low by Sol 2082 See Column R).  Looking at Column C for the pressure during the storm, and Column N for the pressure at the same Ls in the previous Martian year, pressures in Year 4 dropped by 13 to 27 Pa from the previous year (see Column O). The average drop in pressure was about 20.87 Pa. In the 13 sols before arrival of the dust storm (Sols 2066 through Sol 2079) the average drop in pressures was 16.69 Pa. So the average pressure drop during the storm was 4.18 Pa more during the storm than before it. After the storm as I update this report on September 5, 2018 REMS has published data for 10 more sols (Sols 2150 through 2,159). The pressure drops in Pa for these 10 sols (compared to the previous year) were as follows: -19, 19, -19, -21, -19, -23, -23, -26, -24 and -23. The average drop was 21.6 Pa. Again, this compares to an average drop of 20.87 Pa during the storm and 16.69 16.69 Pa before the storm.

       At Sol 2090 MSL Curiosity was at an altitude of about 4193 meters below areoid.  The Sol from the previous Martian year where the Ls was the same was Sol 1422 which was 8/6/2016 on Earth. At that time Curiosity was about 4,400 meters below areoid. So it climbed about 207 meters since then.  Based on a scale height calculation with 610 Pa (6.1 mbar) at areoid, climbing 207 meters from 4,400 meters to 4,193 below meters pressure should drop 17.4 Pa IF there is no dust storm. The scale height calculation is given below.

      What does it mean that the scale height calculation for drop in pressure due to increase in altitude (17.4 Pa) almost exactly matches the drop in pressure supposedly measured by MSL (17.8 Pa - a 97.75% agreement? It means that the NASA data is likely to be fraudulent. While someone took the time to do the scale height calculation before giving us false data, he (or she) forgot that dust adds weight to the atmosphere. The pressure should have increased - probably by at least 100 Pa - rather than decreased. If it got as dark at MSL as it was at Opportunity due to this storm then the pressure should have gone up by about 233 Pa (the 250.8 Pa calculated above considering Mars gravity minus the 17.8 Pa lost due to altitude increase. We must therefore conclude that again we see the REMS Team manufacturing data.

On Table 15B column subjects and color codings are as follows (Note: JPL calls the first year of MSL on Mars "Year 0," the second year Year 1, the third year Year 2 and the 4th year Year 3):

Space Image Source of images for the 2018 Martian Global Dust Storm: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS. Weather data for MSL during this storm is on Table 1 below.

On Table 1 column subjects and color codings are as follows (Note: JPL calls the first year of MSL on Mars "Year 0," the second year Year 1, the third year Year 2 and the 4th year Year 3):

Column Q shows the Ls during Year 1.