Olivier Witasse
Planetary ScientistMain Research Fields
Planetary science, plasma physics, planetary space weather
Keywords
- Study of planetary upper atmospheres (Venus, Earth, Mars, Titan)
- Ionosphere, airglow and auroras
- Couplings between atmospheric envelopes
- Interaction solar wind-atmosphere
- Planetary space weather
- Propagation of solar wind features in the heliosphere
- Analysis of radiation monitor data (onboard INTEGRAL, Rosetta,...)
- Numerical modelling, data analysis, data processing techniques
- Study of the martian moons: solar wind interactions, origin(s)
Ongoing collaborations
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (Toulouse, France)
- Observatoire Royal de Belgique (Bruxelles, Belgium)
- University of Leicester (UK)
Publications
A selection of recent publications:
Sánchez-Cano et al., Spatial, seasonal and solar cycle variations of the Martian total electron content (TEC): Is the TEC a good tracer for atmospheric cycles? Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JE005626, 2018
Molina-Cuberos, G, et al, Aerosols: The key to understanding Titan's lower ionosphere, Planetary and Space Science, Volume 153, p. 157-162, 2018
Witasse, O., et al, Interplanetary coronal mass ejection observed at STEREO-A, Mars, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Saturn, and New Horizons en route to Pluto: Comparison of its Forbush decreases at 1.4, 3.1, and 9.9 AU, Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Volume 122, Issue 8, pp. 7865-7890, 2017 *Web story*
Cardnell, S.; Witasse, O., et al., A photochemical model of the dust-loaded ionosphere of Mars, J. Geophys. Res. Planets, 121, doi:10.1002/2016JE005077, 2016
Mangold, N. et al, Mars: a small terrestrial planet, The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, Volume 24, Issue 1, article id.15, 107 pp, 2016
Ramirez-Nicolas, M. et al., The effect of the induced magnetic field on the electron density vertical profile of the Mars' ionosphere: A Mars Express MARSIS radar data analysis and interpretation, a case study, Planetary and Space Science, Volume 126, p. 49-62, 2016
Sánchez-Cano, B. et al., Solar cycle variations in the ionosphere of Mars as seen by multiple Mars Express data sets,
Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, Volume 121, Issue 3, pp. 2547-2568, 2016
Project/mission at ESA
Past projects:
- Cassini-Huygens
- Venus Express
- Chandrayaan-1
- Mars Express
- ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter
Current project:
- JUICE: JUpiter ICy moon Explorer (since January 2015)