The Mauna Loa monitoring station is operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and sits at an altitude of about 12, 000 ft in the middle of the Pacific.

FORBES: Atmospheric Carbon At All-Time-High

During the first 12 weeks after Curiosity landed in an area named Gale Crater, an international team of researchers analyzed data from more than 20 atmospheric events with at least one characteristic of a whirlwind recorded by the Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) instrument.

ENGADGET: Curiosity rover finds radiation levels on Mars are safe for humans