Strong water isotopic anomalies in the martian atmosphere: Probing current and ancient reservoirs

Mapping Mars' water history We know the water cycle on Earth is complex. Neither is it simple on Mars. Infrared maps of water isotopes made by Villanueva et al. show the distribution of H 2 O and “semiheavy” water (HDO: deuterated water containing a mixture of hydrogen isotopes) across Mars. HD...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Villanueva, G. L., Mumma, M. J., Novak, R. E., Käufl, H. U., Hartogh, P., Encrenaz, T., Tokunaga, A., Khayat, A., Smith, M. D.
Other Authors: NSF Research in Undergraduate Institutions, NASA Keck PI Data Award
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2015
Subjects:
Villanueva
Ice cap
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa3630
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.aaa3630
Description
Summary:Mapping Mars' water history We know the water cycle on Earth is complex. Neither is it simple on Mars. Infrared maps of water isotopes made by Villanueva et al. show the distribution of H 2 O and “semiheavy” water (HDO: deuterated water containing a mixture of hydrogen isotopes) across Mars. HDO enrichment varies with time and location; for example, irregular isotopic signals associate with different terrain features. The measurements also allow seasonal sublimation levels of the northern ice cap to be estimated and thus could be used to reveal past climate behavior. Science , this issue p. 218

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