MAIC-2 v2.3: a Fortran program for simulating the surface temperature, atmospheric water transport and surface glaciation of the planet Mars

Ralf Greve, Björn Grieger and Oliver J. Stenzel

Abstract

The Mars Atmosphere-Ice Coupler MAIC-2 is a computationally efficient, zonally-averaged model designed to simulate Martian surface temperature, atmospheric water transport and surface glaciation over timescales of 10⁵ to 10⁷ years. While sophisticated General Circulation Models (GCMs) provide high-resolution simulations of the Martian atmosphere, their high computational cost makes them largely unsuitable for studies covering millions of years of orbital evolution. MAIC-2 addresses this gap by utilizing physically-based, zonally-averaged parameterizations, including a Local Insolation Temperature (LIT) scheme and a mass balance engine driven by free-convection and instantaneous mixing physics. Version 2.3 introduces a fully modularized Fortran architecture that improves maintainability and ensures that the software remains entirely self-contained, requiring no external numerical libraries or specialized data formats for execution. Demonstrated through a 20-million-year transient simulation, the model successfully reproduces the primary characteristics of the Martian polar layered deposits. MAIC-2 provides the planetary science community with a versatile, open-source tool for investigating the long-term climatic impacts of orbital variations on the Martian surface.

Journal of Open Source Software (submitted).

 
Last modified: 2026-03-13