Fictional Climate - Year 2315 - Terraformed Mars (snow, hottest, warmest)

[Sir Goosenseresworthie]

So I thought it would be cool to post a fictional terraformed martian climate and discuss the possibilities of what it might be like.

This scenario would be a partially terraformed Mars in the distant future.
It isn't meant to be a perfect paradise.

How would Mars get terraformed in the first place?
+tons of nitrogen,oxygen,H2O pumped into the atmosphere over a few centuries?
+giant solar mirrors in space reflect more sunlight onto the surface?
+artificial magnetic field to reduce cosmic radiation reaching the surface?

...how it got terraformed isn't really the point though.
I was more focused on what the climate would look like.



These are the characteristics I considered:

-constant haze in the sky reduces overall sunshine hours

-further from the sun so lower maximum temperatures, even at the equator (40% strength?)

-occasional dust storms?

-locations near the equator would get warm during the day from direct sunlight

-night time temperatures would be very cold even near the equator because the atmosphere would still be very thin in comparison to Earth so heat would escape from the surface very quickly after the sun sets

-day/night cycle and seasonal cycle remains similar to Earth because planetary tilt is similar (now that i think about it, Mars has only 2 small moons, so on second thought the seasonal patterns would probably be much more erratic...)

-very little moisture in the air, when the very brief "rainy season" comes, it regulates day and night temperatures more than the dry season

-most of the precipitation would be rain but ice would form at night. accumulated ice/snow would always melt by midday

-not many plants could live in this environment, there are a few species of spruce trees that can handle summer averages in the 10's C/50's F (see Narsarsuaq, Greenland, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narsarsuaq ) but with the freezing temps at night year round and low precipitation I'm not sure if any traditional plants could live here. some algae and lichen would probably survive...

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I'm sure I probably missed some things...

Would you want to live here?

[Shalop]

B-

Too dry, and (so) diurnal ranges are too big.

[tommyFL]

F. Freezing lows all year long. Lack of vegetation is a big no-no.

[Candle]

I'd live in this climate on Mars if I had everything I needed. It's Mars...

I wouldn't live in this climate on Earth though.

I'll give this a solid D+/C-, as it is too cold at night and too dry.

[MuffinMan16]

This is a bizarre climate and of course it should be, after all it is Mars. The average highs each month look very nice and then comes the average lows, woah. I'd rate it a C-/D+, those diurnal ranges are spectacular. It's still a better climate than a lot of places on Earth like Bangkok, Manaus, Dallol, Winnipeg, or even Brisbane. I'd take it over those and throw in Florida as well. So not really but I guess I could...

[Jas182]

Z----. Never want to live here!

[Max96]

E+, even I don't like year-round freezing nights.

[Sir Goosenseresworthie]

personally i think its like a C-. warm enough during the day that you would only need a jacket most of the time, just be sure to be indoors by sundown

[jackierudetsky]

BTW, what would the hottest place in Mars be like in your opinion?

[Sir Goosenseresworthie]

Originally Posted by likeimglowinginthedark

BTW, what would the hottest place in Mars be like in your opinion?

well if we are talking about the climate of Mars in its current state, speculation is that the equator could reach 21C/70F during the day but since the atmosphere is ridiculously thin, that same location would drop to -73C/-100F at night.

adding more atmosphere goodies (nitrogen, oxygen, etc.) would bring night temps way up and probably reduce maximums slightly. after all, atmosphere isn't what makes a planet warm, atmosphere just helps to keep heat in, like an insulator. a planet can only get as warm as it is close to the sun. the surface of our moon can easily reach 93C/200F during the day, but then drops to -129C/-200F at night.

regarding this hypothetical terraformed martian climate, the chart i gave above was for 12°N latitude which is pretty close to the equator so that would be pretty close to maximum, so i think conservatively 18C/65F would be the warmest day of a typical year in the warmest place on Mars. maaaaaybe 27C/80F as an all time record...