P21C-2113: Constraining Hesperian Martian PCO2 from Mineral Analysis at Gale Crater
Carbon dioxide is an essential atmospheric component in martian climate models that attempt to reconcile a faint young sun with widespread evidence of liquid water at the planet's surface in the Noachian and Early Hesperian. Current estimates of ancient martian CO levels, derived from global in...
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ftnasantrs:oai:casi.ntrs.nasa.gov:20160014584 2023-05-15T18:45:44+02:00 P21C-2113: Constraining Hesperian Martian PCO2 from Mineral Analysis at Gale Crater Fairen, Alberto G. Rampe, Elizabeth B. Haberle, Robert Michael Blake, David Frederick Sutter, Brad Eigenbrode, Jennifer L. Des Marais, David J. Grotzinger, John P. Mischna, Michael Vaniman, David T. Bristow, Thomas Siebach, Kirsten L. Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available November 30, 2016 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160014584 unknown Document ID: 20160014584 http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160014584 Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright CASI Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration JSC-CN-38285 2016 AGU Fall Meeting; 12-16 Dec. 2016; San Francisco, CA; United States 2016 ftnasantrs 2019-07-20T23:42:38Z Carbon dioxide is an essential atmospheric component in martian climate models that attempt to reconcile a faint young sun with widespread evidence of liquid water at the planet's surface in the Noachian and Early Hesperian. Current estimates of ancient martian CO levels, derived from global inventories of carbon, and orbital detections of Noachian and Early Hesperian clay mineralbearing terrains indicate CO levels that are unable to support warm and wet conditions. These estimates are subject to various sources of uncertainty however. Mineral and contextual sedimentary environmental data collected by the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity in Gale Crater provide a more direct means of estimating the atmospheric partial pressure of CO (P ) coinciding with a long-lived lake system in Gale crater at approximately 3.5 Ga. Results from a reaction transport model, which simulates mineralogy observed within the Sheepbed member at Yellowknife Bay by coupling mineral equilibria with carbonate precipitation kinetics and rates of sedimentation, indicate atmospheric levels in the 10's mbar range. At such low P levels, climate models are unable to warm Hesperian Mars anywhere near the freezing point of water and other gases are required to raise atmospheric pressure to prevent lakes from boiling away. Thus, lacustrine features of Gale formed in a cold environment by a mechanism yet to be determined, or the climate models lack an essential component that would serve to elevate surface temperatures, at least temporally and/or locally, on Hesperian Mars. Our results also impose restrictions on the potential role of atmospheric CO in inferred warmer conditions of the Noachian. Other/Unknown Material Yellowknife NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Yellowknife Yellowknife Bay ENVELOPE(-114.336,-114.336,62.367,62.367) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
op_collection_id |
ftnasantrs |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration |
spellingShingle |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration Fairen, Alberto G. Rampe, Elizabeth B. Haberle, Robert Michael Blake, David Frederick Sutter, Brad Eigenbrode, Jennifer L. Des Marais, David J. Grotzinger, John P. Mischna, Michael Vaniman, David T. Bristow, Thomas Siebach, Kirsten L. P21C-2113: Constraining Hesperian Martian PCO2 from Mineral Analysis at Gale Crater |
topic_facet |
Lunar and Planetary Science and Exploration |
description |
Carbon dioxide is an essential atmospheric component in martian climate models that attempt to reconcile a faint young sun with widespread evidence of liquid water at the planet's surface in the Noachian and Early Hesperian. Current estimates of ancient martian CO levels, derived from global inventories of carbon, and orbital detections of Noachian and Early Hesperian clay mineralbearing terrains indicate CO levels that are unable to support warm and wet conditions. These estimates are subject to various sources of uncertainty however. Mineral and contextual sedimentary environmental data collected by the Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity in Gale Crater provide a more direct means of estimating the atmospheric partial pressure of CO (P ) coinciding with a long-lived lake system in Gale crater at approximately 3.5 Ga. Results from a reaction transport model, which simulates mineralogy observed within the Sheepbed member at Yellowknife Bay by coupling mineral equilibria with carbonate precipitation kinetics and rates of sedimentation, indicate atmospheric levels in the 10's mbar range. At such low P levels, climate models are unable to warm Hesperian Mars anywhere near the freezing point of water and other gases are required to raise atmospheric pressure to prevent lakes from boiling away. Thus, lacustrine features of Gale formed in a cold environment by a mechanism yet to be determined, or the climate models lack an essential component that would serve to elevate surface temperatures, at least temporally and/or locally, on Hesperian Mars. Our results also impose restrictions on the potential role of atmospheric CO in inferred warmer conditions of the Noachian. |
format |
Other/Unknown Material |
author |
Fairen, Alberto G. Rampe, Elizabeth B. Haberle, Robert Michael Blake, David Frederick Sutter, Brad Eigenbrode, Jennifer L. Des Marais, David J. Grotzinger, John P. Mischna, Michael Vaniman, David T. Bristow, Thomas Siebach, Kirsten L. |
author_facet |
Fairen, Alberto G. Rampe, Elizabeth B. Haberle, Robert Michael Blake, David Frederick Sutter, Brad Eigenbrode, Jennifer L. Des Marais, David J. Grotzinger, John P. Mischna, Michael Vaniman, David T. Bristow, Thomas Siebach, Kirsten L. |
author_sort |
Fairen, Alberto G. |
title |
P21C-2113: Constraining Hesperian Martian PCO2 from Mineral Analysis at Gale Crater |
title_short |
P21C-2113: Constraining Hesperian Martian PCO2 from Mineral Analysis at Gale Crater |
title_full |
P21C-2113: Constraining Hesperian Martian PCO2 from Mineral Analysis at Gale Crater |
title_fullStr |
P21C-2113: Constraining Hesperian Martian PCO2 from Mineral Analysis at Gale Crater |
title_full_unstemmed |
P21C-2113: Constraining Hesperian Martian PCO2 from Mineral Analysis at Gale Crater |
title_sort |
p21c-2113: constraining hesperian martian pco2 from mineral analysis at gale crater |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160014584 |
op_coverage |
Unclassified, Unlimited, Publicly available |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-114.336,-114.336,62.367,62.367) |
geographic |
Yellowknife Yellowknife Bay |
geographic_facet |
Yellowknife Yellowknife Bay |
genre |
Yellowknife |
genre_facet |
Yellowknife |
op_source |
CASI |
op_relation |
Document ID: 20160014584 http://hdl.handle.net/2060/20160014584 |
op_rights |
Copyright, Distribution as joint owner in the copyright |
_version_ |
1766236861675601920 |