Thermophysics

Template:Short description Thermophysics is the application of thermodynamics to geophysics and to planetary science more broadly. It may also be used to refer to the field of thermodynamic and transport properties.

Remote sensing

Earth thermophysics is a branch of geophysics that uses the naturally occurring surface temperature as a function of the cyclical variation in solar radiation to characterise planetary material properties.

Thermophysical properties are characteristics that control the diurnal, seasonal, or climatic surface and subsurface temperature variations (or thermal curves) of a material. The most important thermophysical property is thermal inertia, which controls the amplitude of the thermal curve and albedo (or reflectivity), which controls the average temperature.

This field of observations and computer modeling was first applied to Mars due to the ideal atmospheric pressure for characterising granular materials based upon temperature.Template:Sfnp The Mariner 6, Mariner 7, and Mariner 9 spacecraft carried thermal infrared radiometers,Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp and a global map of thermal inertia was produced from modeled surface temperaturesTemplate:Sfnp collected by the Infrared Thermal Mapper Instruments (IRTM) on board the Viking 1 and 2 Orbiters.

The original thermophysical models were based upon the studies of lunar temperature variations.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp Further development of the models for Mars included surface-atmosphere energy transfer,Template:Sfnp atmospheric back-radiation,Template:Sfnp surface emissivity variations,Template:Sfnp CO₂ frost and blocky surfaces,Template:Sfnp variability of atmospheric back-radiation,Template:Sfnp effects of a radiative-convective atmosphere,Template:Sfnp and single-point temperature observations.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp