How come Mars cools off so rapidly at night?

How come Mars cools off so rapidly at night? You'd think, given the enormous amount of greenhouse gasses (principally CO2) in Mars' atmosphere, that locations on Mars would cool off much more slowly at night than they do on Earth since Mars has much, much more CO2 in it's atmosphere than Earth does, over 20x more on a per unit surface area basis, yet Mars has a massive whoppingly large gap between daytime high temperatures and nighttime lows. Theres nowhere on Earth, not even the most arid regions, that regularly experiences daily 70ºC temperature swings, but on Mars thats the norm.
Is it possible that the greenhouse gas qualities of CO2 are negligible or insignificant? Water vapor is the principle greenhouse gas on Earth, if CO2 was completely impotent as a greenhouse gas then that would explain why Mars has such massive daily temperature swings in comparison to the much more moderate ones on Earth. Some humid regions on Earth have daily average temperature variations as small as 5ºC while arid locations swing by as much as 15ºC on average. There is nothing anywhere approaching the temperature variations seen on Mars.

Attached is a location on Mars near the equator with it's monthly temperature statistics normalized to an Earth calendar for ease of comparison

  1. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    you make sense there hmmm

  2. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Yes. CO2 is not a greenhouse gas but water vapor is. The low amount of water vapor in the atmosphere of Mars causes it to lack a greenhouse effect.

  3. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    You can find all the answers in this thread that just hit autosage:

    [...]

    I'm sure you didn't see this and that this isn't just a replacement thread for that other one.

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Hm you're right. That thread reinforces the conclusion that CO2 is not a greenhouse gas. Thanks!

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        Please delete your thread as to not clutter page 1.

  4. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    don't ask question guy just give your money to Israel and Klaus Schwab

  5. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Kinda sucks that Mars has no greenhouse effect, it would be a lot more inhabitable if it did

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Well, it does have a greenhouse effect. It's just much smaller due to the low atmospheric density.

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        there is no water vapor cycle either that dominates the greenhouse effect. with that the relatively small effect the weak greenhouse co2 has on temperature is multiplied on earth. co2 alone needs very high pressures like on venus to get the job done.

  6. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    1. there is little to no water vapour on mars
    2. thicker atmospheres help distribute heat
    3. thicker atmoshperes also increase the range of infrared radiation that can be absorbed by co2 through pressure broadening.

  7. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    It's greenhouse gas, because of how atmosphere works on Earth, that it's greenhouse gas here, doesn't mean it's greenhouse gas everywhere. It's about stuff like diffraction light and stuff. It's not just the amount of CO2 but whole thing working miracles.

  8. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    This video explains the greenhouse effect pretty well: https://youtu.be/oqu5DjzOBF8

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      That is a well known crackpot channel pushing determinism and other nonsense.

  9. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Mars has an incredibly thin atmosphere in comparison to the Earth. Therefore it's not able to retain heat nearly as well as the Earth since less atmosphere means less thermal storage capacity. Think of Mars like a desert, it can get really gor during the day but since there's very little gas in the air to store that heat it gets very cold at night.

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      I thought CO2 is like a blanket that traps heat in, how come it doesn't work like that on Mars when Mars has so much more CO2 than Earth does?

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        he just explained why
        jesus fucking christ I hate this board

        • 3 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Did you just assume their gender, you bigot

  10. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    All these surface level boomer theories are so retarded man
    Can you do more research besides watching a youtube video while falling asleep on your melatonin?

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      What part of CO2 is not a greenhouse gas you don't understand you ignorant piece of shit?
      We need troops to go into every school, college and university to beat into a corpse every anti science woke moron like you.

  11. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    >You'd think, given the enormous amount of greenhouse gasses (principally CO2) in Mars' atmosphere, that locations on Mars would cool off much more slowly at night than they do on Earth
    no I would not think that

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      why not? don't you believe in greenhouse gasses? or do you just presume that CO2 isn't a greenhouse gas?

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        He probably understands how the greenhouse effect works in detail, unlike you who just came up with a quantity and baselessly announce "more of this should mean more greenhouse effect regardless of everything else".

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >enormous amount of greenhouse gasses
      source? percentage =/= volume
      I actually can't find data of exact amount of CO2 on Mars verses Earth

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        The pure mass of CO2 is also not the single number that drives the greenhouse effect in terms of power. The other 99.96% of our atmosphere directly and indirectly contribute to the ability of CO2 to cause the greenhouse effect.

  12. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    I wonder if someone’s paying for these endless threads. They keep posting the same bullshit even though they keep getting proven wrong every single time

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      the idea is that if you repeat bullshit often enough someone will believe it. it's working and it is making a difference over time. understanding the greenhouse gasses and the warming mechanism isn't trivial especially with the water vapour cycle and how the effect of co2 is multiplied through it. that is the weak point the sophon that started this thread is aiming at.

  13. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    mars atmosphere is thin and sparse, like your hair

    • 3 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      LMAO

      • 3 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        What the fuck is that?

        • 3 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Homo floresiensis.

  14. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    >why does the planet with 1/100th of the atmosphere of earth not hold any head

  15. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    If you are actually serious the simple answer is that all materials have a heat capacity, and the more material you have the more total heat is stored at a particular temperature. Mars may have more CO2, but its atmosphere is vastly thinner than the earth's so the total heat capacity of the atmosphere is way lower. Even with a greenhouse effect far less heat needs to escape the martian atmosphere for it to significantly cool down compared to the earth.

  16. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    >How come Mars cools off so rapidly at night?
    israelites

  17. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    Your repeated inability to understand a basic concept doesn’t mean everyone else is as retarded as you are

  18. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    > So on Mars, with the atmosphere being entirely CO2, the most popular theory of greenhouse gasses suggests that Mars should have an enormous greenhouse effect regardless the atmosphere's low density since it has so much CO2 in it's atmosphere.

    Not quite right. Mars' atmosphere is thin (less than 1% of Earth's), so even though it's mostly CO2, there's not enough of it to create a strong greenhouse effect. Plus, Mars is further from the Sun, receiving less solar energy.

    > Mars does not experience a greenhouse effect, so the only conclusion that can be reached from that is that CO2 is not a greenhouse gas.

    This conclusion is flawed. CO2 is a greenhouse gas, but Mars' conditions (thin atmosphere, distance from Sun) don't allow for a significant greenhouse effect. It's not just about the presence of greenhouse gases, but also their concentration and the planet's proximity to its star.

  19. 3 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    CO2 is not a greenhouse gas at 0.006 atm pressure

  20. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    I'm so tired of your retarded ass

    >CO2 on a per unit surface area basis
    Where do you even get this number? Earth has 300x more mol CO2 per square kilometer surface area than Mars

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >trips of wrong
      lol
      lmao even
      Mars has 7.5x more moles CO2 per sq. km surface area than Earth

  21. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    How come Mars is 500°C cooler than Venus? You'd think, given the enormous amount of CO2, which is a greenhouse gas, in Mars' atmosphere, that Mars would be hotter. CO2 % in Mars' atmosphere is only 1.5% less than Venus, so what explains the difference?
    Is it possible that the greenhouse gas qualities of CO2 are negligible or insignificant?

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      a cup full of water could have less water then a cup half full

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Venus' atmosphere is opaque, its not a situation thats analogous to Earth and Mars where the transparent atmosphere allows the Sun to heat the solid surface of the planet

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        So Venus should be even colder, given that it doesn't even get direct sunlight?

  22. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    I'm not saying composition doesn't matter. It does matter. But if the density of the atmosphere is too low than there is not enough heat stored in the atmosphere for a greenhouse effect to trap in the first place so the fact that it has more co2 doesn't keep it warm enough.

  23. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    Water is a much more potent greenhouse gas than co2. The reason carbon dioxide and others matter here on earth is because the presence of water in the atmosphere is dependent on temperature. Water vapor cant warm up the planet enough to sustain its own presence in the atmosphere so it relies on gases that don't condense to stabilize and guage the earth's temperature. On Mars there's only co2 which on its own sucks for trapping heat

  24. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    An IQ of 85 or below is generally where people start being unable to distinguish fantasy from reality.

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >unable to distinguish fantasy from reality.
      That's a personality thing more than an intelligence thing, imo.

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        its actually an iq thing, personality issues arise from low iq

  25. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    >enormous amount
    Mars's atmosphere is 1% the density of Earth's, ain't nothing getting trapped.

  26. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    >How come Mars cools off so rapidly at night?

    Mars' atmosphere is really thin. Mars' atmosphere is something, like 90-100 times thinner than Earths. It's like jumping into bed and asking why you're chilly when you're blanket is like a table mat instead of a quilt.

    >Is it possible that the greenhouse gas qualities of CO2 are negligible or insignificant?

    No, otherwise it would be more like the Moon.
    The Moon is a vacuum, possess no atmosphere what-so-ever, and can't hold onto any heat and has temperature spikes that go from 120 Celsius to -253 Celsius at 'night'. That's normal for the Moon, but on Mars your own record temperatures, which I assume are exceptional, don't go quite that extreme.
    With all that in mind I'd actually argue the opposite: it's impressive how 'comparatively' warm Mars is despite its' distance from the sun and how thin its' atmosphere is. That carbon dioxide is absolutely doing something.

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      Mars' atmosphere is practically pure CO2, so it should be exceptionally insulating regardless the lack of density.

      The Moon's day-night cycle takes something like 700 hours, Mars would cool off that much too if it had nights that long. The temperature swings on Mars are pretty much exactly what they would be if the planet didn't have an atmosphere. The hottest time of day on Mars is noon too, thats another tipoff that CO2 has pretty much no insulating qualities at all, if Mars' atmosphere had insulating qualities then the peak heat of the day would be displaced from noon like it is here on Earth

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        >Mars' atmosphere is practically pure CO2, so it should be exceptionally insulating regardless the lack of density.
        Not how it works.
        >The temperature swings on Mars are pretty much exactly what they would be if the planet didn't have an atmosphere.
        Correct. It almost doesn't have an atmosphere.
        >if Mars' atmosphere had insulating qualities then the peak heat of the day would be displaced from noon like it is here on Earth
        Correct. A very thin atmosphere had almost no insulating effect.

        • 2 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          >A very thin atmosphere had almost no insulating effect.
          It would if it was made of greenhouse gasses such as water vapor, but it doesn't on Mars because CO2 isn't a greenhouse gas

          • 2 weeks ago
            Anonymous

            Wrong.

  27. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    This is why AI trained in this forum is unfeasibly retarded

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      So you're trying to tell us that you can't explain why Mars cools off so rapidly at night even though the obvious explanation is that CO2 isn't a greenhouse gas.

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        >what is thermal capacity?

  28. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    the answer is how mass and volume relate to pressure and concentration in the gaseous phase.
    mars atmosphere is way lighter than earth's. that, added to a much lighter gravity force leads to the the pressure being much, much lower, so even though the percentage, or even number of mols of CO2 is higher on mars atmosphere, the concentration of CO2 molecules per volume is almost insignificant, resulting in a much lower probability of trapping incoming photons from the sun in the form of heat.

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      So what you're saying is that because of Mars' low gravity it requires much more mass of atmosphere to produce the same atmospheric pressure than would be observed under Earth gravity.
      So if Mars has 38% of Earth's gravity and 6.5% of Earth's atmospheric pressure that means Mars has to have about 17% Earth's mass of atmosphere to produce that pressure.

  29. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    Mars evidently has a greenhouse effect of 5°C.

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      That was disproven in the other thread. That figure is based on a wikipedia calculation which is incorrect.

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        >no! Spectral measurements showing the small greenhouse effect of the Martian atmosphere are fake

        I wonder if someone’s paying for these endless threads. They keep posting the same bullshit even though they keep getting proven wrong every single time

        • 2 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Uh sure whatever. Go play with your friends Timmy.

  30. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    Because you can't regulate or tax water vapor to justify the controlled demolition of a first world economy.

  31. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    [...]

    Assuming you’re not arguing in bad faith and rejecting empirical observations the reasons that Mars has a wake greenhouse effect are
    Mars’s atmosphere is very thin and has no water.
    The amount of solar radiation is 40% of the amount reaching the Earth
    When CO2 absorbs and re emits IR, there must be other gases to hold that energy and the mass of the Martian atmosphere is much much smaller and thus can’t hold energy effectively.
    The problem on earth with CO2 is that it compounds the greenhouse effect of the other gasses in the atmosphere. Water vapor falls out of the atmosphere almost instantly, and it’s controlled by temperature. While CO2 has a much longer residence time. This causes a positive feedback loop where the extra greenhouse effect of CO2 increases the temperature and thus the atmosphere can hold more water.
    Prior to the anthropogenic spike of CO2, this back and forth lead to the glacial/interglacial cycles that are triggered by changing orbital parameters. These cycles operate on the order of 100k years.
    This is an observed and quantified fact. The amount of radiative forcing is in fact die to increasing CO2.

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >Prior to the anthropogenic spike of CO2
      You mean the one in the Cambrian?

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        >hurr what about the time not even plants had reached land
        Great arguments here

        • 2 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Well you said spike. Are you talking 2000ppm? 1000? Or do you consider a measly 100ppm increase a "spike" that would have dramatic ramifications?

          • 2 weeks ago
            Anonymous

            Shameless deflection. Answer the arguments from the other post.
            And yes, it is a large spike when CO2 rose by 80 ppm in 15k years in this interglacial period and we’ve increased the CO2 by ~150 ppm in 100 years

            • 2 weeks ago
              Anonymous

              >when CO2 rose by 80 ppm in 15k years in this interglacial period
              You can't know that it took that long. The resolution of ice cores is much lower than you think it is. In 100,000 years it will appear that our "spike" took thousands of years.

              • 2 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                It might look like the temporary spike didn't exist because of the low resolution.

              • 2 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                Answer the question anon, stop deflecting like a coward.
                Ice cores from this interglacial cycle do have sufficient resolution btw

              • 2 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                You're the only one deflecting (and lying about your data, which is far worse).

              • 2 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                You can deflect all you want, it doesn't change the fact that ice cores have enough resolution.
                Interesting that you still haven't responded to any arguments.

              • 2 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                You can deflect all you want, it doesn't change the fact that ice cores have enough resolution.
                Interesting that you still haven't responded to any arguments.

                The resolution of the ice core for this past interglacial is 100 years. If you were collapse the anthropogenic CO2 emissions of the past 100 years, it would show a spike of ~60 ppm in the ice core record, something that clearly would be receivable in a hypothetical ice core.
                The anthopogenic spike is also visible in the most shallow ice core data.

              • 2 weeks ago
                Anonymous

                show me the logarithmic graph

    • 2 weeks ago
      Anonymous

      >Mars’s atmosphere is very thin
      its not even all that thin, its thick enough to have intermittent overcast and precipitation just like here on earth, its extremely similar to earth, moreso than any other planet in the known universe. the lower gravity on mars is whats responsible for the lower atmospheric pressure, the total mass of gas surrounding mars is comparable and analogous to earth. mars has way, way more co2 than earth does and it has little to no greenhouse effect. political propaganda graphics won't change that.

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous
        • 2 weeks ago
          Anonymous

          Shows how bad AI is at judging intelligence.

      • 2 weeks ago
        Anonymous

        >Imagine being so retarded that you thought an atmosphere so thin that water would boil in your hand isn't thin

  32. 2 weeks ago
    Anonymous

    CO2 is a marginal greenhouse gas. The marginal effect is only relevant on a planet with weather fine tuned to our evolution.

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