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A new analysis of the largest known deposit of carbonate minerals on Mars suggests that the original Martian atmosphere may have already lost most of its carbon dioxide by the era of valley network formation.
"The biggest carbonate deposit on Mars has, at most, twice as much carbon in it as the current Mars atmosphere," said Bethany Ehlmann of the California Institute of Technology and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, both in Pasadena. "Even if you combined all known carbon reservoirs together, it is still nowhere near enough to sequester the thick atmosphere that has been proposed for the time when there were rivers flowing on the Martian surface."
Carbon dioxide makes up most of the Martian atmosphere. That gas can be pulled out of the air and sequestered or pulled into the ground by chemical reactions with rocks to form carbonate minerals. Years before the series of successful Mars missions, many scientists expected to find large Martian deposits of carbonates holding much of the carbon from the planet's original atmosphere. Instead, these missions have found low concentrations of carbonate distributed widely, and only a few concentrated deposits. By far the largest known carbonate-rich deposit on Mars covers an area at least the size of Delaware, and maybe as large as Arizona, in a region called Nili Fossae.
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But if the atmosphere was once thicker, what happened to it? One possible explanation is that Mars did have a much denser atmosphere during its flowing-rivers period, and then lost most of it to outer space from the top of the atmosphere, rather than by sequestration in minerals.
If Mars were losing its atmosphere to outer space, wouldn't we able to detect a trail of gas from the planet?
(Score: 4, Funny) by aristarchus on Saturday September 05 2015, @06:10AM
So, now we have proof that anthropogenic global warming is not what happened to Mars. And by some rather strange analogy with no basis in reality, that means AGW is not real on Earth. Yeah,. . . I would buy stock in that. But only if that guy attached to the other guy in the Swartzennegger version of Total recall says so. What was his name? Led the resistance? Ah, Kuato! There is the source for all the Republican deniers! At least those you are not in jail for imposing their view of the law instead of, you know, the actual law. F**king Martians. Especially those in Kentucky.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday September 05 2015, @08:05AM
And by some rather strange analogy with no basis in reality, that means AGW is not real on Earth.
What's the point of grotesquely misrepresenting someone's argument? As I recall, the actual argument was that contemporary warming on Mars to that of Earth indicates that solar output has been underestimated.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 05 2015, @01:02PM
Another stupid Global Warming Warrior.
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Saturday September 05 2015, @02:21PM
There cannot be anthropogenic warming without anthropos. Maybe in few years when we're there it can start, but not yet.
(Score: 2) by aristarchus on Monday September 07 2015, @06:44AM
Um, we have many billions already? What do you think "anthropos" are? "Homos" in another language. Souix in another. Or just "the blackheads" in Chinese. Yes, well over the limit, if they continue to burn fossil fuels, not to mention the methane emissions! Cut it out with the beans, alright already?
(Score: 2) by hendrikboom on Wednesday September 09 2015, @12:20PM
True, but none of them are on Mars yet.