[X] My Assistant

[Guest_Maximus_*]

Q: Would the maximum temperature of the ground (near the surface) on mars be lower or higher than the maximum temperature of the atmosphere?

I would guess that it would be lower. Assuming high temperature fluctuations, the amount of time it takes for the ground to "warm" up is too long. Does anyone for for sure?

[dburt]

Don't forget dust devils that form during the day, owing to a warmer ground surface, and thermal inertia of solid rocks that, like concrete, stay warm long after sunset.

-- HDP Don

[Doc]

Don't forget dust devils that form during the day, owing to a warmer ground surface, and thermal inertia of solid rocks that, like concrete, stay warm long after sunset.

-- HDP Don

And that explains the reason why we probably dont see dust devils at Meridiani let alone extremely sandy areas I suppose.

You need rocky areas or sparsly rocky areas like Gusev where warmed rocks are ready to provide energy for dust devils to form.

[hendric]

Do dust devils not form on sand dunes? I would think that are the right time of the year or even day, depending on the sand dune direction relative to the sun, the sun-facing parts would be warmed, while the away-facing parts would be much cooler due to the this atmosphere, causing a convection that could lead to dust devils.