Dust Lifting Through Surface Albedo Changes at Jezero Crater, Mars

We identify temporal variations in surface albedo at Jezero crater using first-of-their-kind high-cadence in-situ measurements of reflected shortwave radiation during the first 350 sols Mars 2020 mission. Simultaneous Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) pressure, radiative fluxes, winds, and sky brightness indicate that these changes are caused by dust devils under typical conditions a storm Ls ∼ 155°. The 17% decrease is one order magnitude larger than most apparent quiescent periods devils. Spectral reflectance from Mastcam-Z images before after mainly removal. occurrence affected intensity proximity convective vortex, availability mobility small particles surface. probability observing an change increases with pressure drop (ΔP): were detected 3.5%, 43%, 100% ΔP < 2.5 Pa, > Pa 4.5 respectively. Albedo associated peak wind speeds above 15 m·s−1. discuss removal estimates, observed temperature coincident changes, implications for solar-powered missions. These results show synergies between multiple instruments (MEDA, Mastcam-Z, Navcam, Supercam microphone) improve our understanding aeolian processes on Mars.