Volatiles in the Martian regolith

• Main Authors: Clark, B. C., Baird, A. K.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1979
• Subjects: 91; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19800026295

An inventory of released volatiles on Mars has been derived based upon Viking measurements of atmospheric and surface chemical composition, and upon the inferred mineralogy of a ubiquitous regolith, assumed to average 200m in depth. This model is consistent with the relative abundances of volatiles (except for S) on the earth's surface, but implies one-fifteenth of the volatile release of earth if starting materials were comparable. All constituents are accommodated as chemical components of, or absorbed phases on, regolith materials - without the necessity of invoking unobservable deposits of carbonates, nitrates, or permafrost ice.