The Mars Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (MRAMS) is a computer program

Computer program

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task with a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute...

 that simulates

Computer simulation

A computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...

 the circulations of the Martian

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...

 atmosphere at regional and local scales. MRAMS, developed by Scot Rafkin and Timothy Michaels, is derived from the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), developed by William Cotton

William Cotton

William Cotton may refer to:* William Cotton , American artist and playwright* William Cotton , Bishop of Exeter, 1598–1621* William Cotton , Governor of the Bank of England, 1842–1845...

 and Roger Pielke

Roger A. Pielke

Roger A. Pielke, Sr. is an American meteorologist with interests in climate variability and climate change, environmental vulnerability, numerical modeling, atmospheric dynamics, land/ocean - atmosphere interactions, and large eddy/turbulent boundary layer modeling...

, to study atmospheric circulations on the Earth.

Key features of MRAMS include a non-hydrostatic, fully compressible dynamics, explicit bin dust, water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

, and carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...

 ice atmospheric physics model

Computer simulation

A computer simulation, a computer model, or a computational model is a computer program, or network of computers, that attempts to simulate an abstract model of a particular system...

, and a fully prognostic regolith

Regolith

Regolith is a layer of loose, heterogeneous material covering solid rock. It includes dust, soil, broken rock, and other related materials and is present on Earth, the Moon, some asteroids, and other terrestrial planets and moons.-Etymology:...

 model that includes carbon dioxide deposition

Deposition (physics)

Deposition is a process in which gas transforms into solid . The reverse of deposition is sublimation.One example of deposition is the process by which, in sub-freezing air, water vapor changes directly to ice without first becoming a liquid...

 and sublimation

Sublimation (physics)

Sublimation is the process of transition of a substance from the solid phase to the gas phase without passing through an intermediate liquid phase...

. Several Mars exploration projects

Exploration of Mars

The exploration of Mars has been an important part of the space exploration programs of the Soviet Union, the United States, Europe, and Japan. Dozens of robotic spacecraft, including orbiters, landers, and rovers, have been launched toward Mars since the 1960s...

, including the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Phoenix Scout Mission

Phoenix (spacecraft)

Phoenix was a robotic spacecraft on a space exploration mission on Mars under the Mars Scout Program. The Phoenix lander descended on Mars on May 25, 2008...

, and the Mars Science Laboratory

Mars Science Laboratory

The Mars Science Laboratory is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration mission with the aim to land and operate a rover named Curiosity on the surface of Mars. The MSL was launched November 26, 2011, at 10:02 EST and is scheduled to land on Mars at Gale Crater between August 6 and 20, 2012...

have used MRAMS to study a variety of atmospheric circulations.