Out-of-season water escape during Mars’ northern summer triggered by a strong localized dust storm

Out-of-season water escape during Mars’ northern summer triggered by a strong localized dust storm | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Out-of-season water escape during Mars’ northern summer triggered by a strong localized dust storm Adrián Brines, Shohei Aoki, Frank Daerden, Michael Chaffin, Samuel Atwood, and 17 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6700827/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Communications Earth & Environment → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Mars almost certainly had a significant amount of water in its past. Recent observations reveal that during southern summer, when the atmosphere is warmer and dustier, water vapor can reach high altitudes without condensing, leading to water loss to space. Here, we identify a new pathway for water loss, for the first time observed during the opposite season. Our findings show that a strong, localized, and short-lived dust storm in Martian Year 37 (August 2023) drove significant vertical transport of water vapor in the northern summer season. Just days after the storm, enhanced water vapor concentrations were observed at altitudes over 40 km across northern high latitudes, followed by an increase in escaping hydrogen detected at the exobase. These results suggest that water loss on Mars can be triggered by strong local dust storms at any time of year, potentially making total water loss greater than previously estimated. Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Planetary science/Atmospheric dynamics Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Planetary science/Atmospheric chemistry Physical sciences/Astronomy and planetary science/Planetary science/Inner planets Atmospheric Science Mars Water Vapor Dust Storms Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Supplementaryinformation.pdf Supplementary information Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 02 Feb, 2026 Read the published version in Communications Earth & Environment → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6700827","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":469863098,"identity":"e4919da5-b8ab-4491-9bda-86cf93efbfae","order_by":0,"name":"Adrián 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