Ice in the Martian Regolith

Squyres, S. W.; Clifford, S. M.; Kuzmin, R. O.; Zimbelman, J. R.; Costard, F.

doi:10.2307/j.ctt207g59v.20

Cited by 106 publications

(133 citation statements)

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“…(2) Total water capacity below Shoreline 1 (estimated to be more than 10 8 km 3 compared to the approximated capacity below the previously mapped Contact 1 of 9.6 × 10 7 km 3 by Head et al, 1999), which lies between the minimum value for water that flowed through the Chryse outflow channels (0.6 × 10 7 km 3 ; Carr, 1996a) and the maximum water capacity estimated for regolith (5 to 20 × 10 7 km 3 ; Squyres et al, 1992).…”

Section: Physiographic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Episodic flood inundations of the northern plains of Mars

Fairén

Dohm

Baker

et al. 2003

Icarus

168

160

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Throughout the recorded history of Mars, liquid water has distinctly shaped its landscape, including the prominent circum-Chryse and the northwestern slope valleys outflow channel systems, and the extremely flat northern plains topography at the distal reaches of these outflow channel systems. Paleotopographic reconstructions of the Tharsis magmatic complex reveal the existence of an Europe-sized Noachian drainage basin and subsequent aquifer system in eastern Tharsis. This basin is proposed to have sourced outburst floodwaters that sculpted the outflow channels, and ponded to form various hypothesized oceans, seas, and lakes episodically through time. These floodwaters decreased in volume with time due to inadequate groundwater recharge of the Tharsis aquifer system. Martian topography, as observed from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, corresponds well to these ancient flood inundations, including the approximated shorelines that have been proposed for the northern plains. Stratigraphy, geomorphology, and topography record at least one great Noachian-Early Hesperian northern plains ocean, a Late Hesperian sea inset within the margin of the high water marks of the previous ocean, and a number of widely distributed minor lakes that may represent a reduced Late Hesperian sea, or ponded waters in the deepest reaches of the northern plains related to minor Tharsis-and Elysium-induced Amazonian flooding.

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Section: Physiographic Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Episodic flood inundations of the northern plains of Mars

Fairén

Dohm

Baker

et al. 2003

Icarus

168

160

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“…In response to the subsequent decline in planetary heat flow, the freezing front at the base of the cryosphere propagated downward with time, creating a cold trap for subsurface H20 [Clifford, 1993]. As a result, the cryosphere is expected to be ice-rich, a belief that is supported by the geomorphic interpretation of a wide variety of surface features, many of which resemble cold climate features found on Earth [Lucchitta, 1981;Squyres et al, 1992].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

The state, potential distribution, and biological implications of methane in the Martian crust

Max¹,

Clifford²

2000

J. Geophys. Res.

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Abstract. The search for life on Mars has recently focused on its potential survival in deep (>2 km) subpermafrost aquifers where anaerobic bacteria, similar to those found in deep subsurface ecosystems on Earth, may have survived in an environment that has remained stable for billions of years. An anticipated by-product of this biological activity is methane. The detection of large deposits of methane gas and hydrate in the Martian cryosphere, or as emissions from deep fracture zones, would provide persuasive evidence of indigenous life and confirm the presence of a valuable in situ resource for use by future human explorers. IntroductionWith an average surface temperature of -200 K, a CO2 atmosphere with a surface pressure of-6 mbar, and a high incident flux of UVB, the present Martian surface environment is hostile to life as we know it. However, there is abundant The depth to which significant porosity, permeability, and water persist on Mars is unknown. However, in light of the considerable extent to which impacts, volcanism, tectonics, and the presence of abundant water have affected the evolution of its surface, it is likely that the gross physical and hydraulic properties of the Martian crust will closely resemble those found on Earth, appropriately scaled to reflect the gravitationally induced differences in lithostatic pressure at a given depth. This suggests that the porosity and permeability conditions 4165

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“…[19] The lower crustal temperatures and heat flows necessary to initiate large scale crustal flow underneath Argyre range from T b = 1300 K and [20] The column averaged crustal thermal conductivity used here may be an overestimation, and 2 W m À1 K À1 may be more appropriate [Squyres et al, 1992;Clifford, 1993]. This would increase lower crustal temperatures such that the admissible amount of radiogenic heating would be reduced by 10 pW kg À1 .…”

Section: Grott and Breuer: Martian Radiogenic Heating L05201mentioning

confidence: 99%

Constraints on the radiogenic heat production rate in the Martian interior from viscous relaxation of crustal thickness variations

Grott

Breuer

2008

Geophysical Research Letters

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[1] Crustal thickness variations induce lateral pressure gradients which can drive flow in the lower crust if temperatures there are sufficiently high. The absence of large scale crustal relaxation at the Argyre impact basin therefore constrains the temperatures at the base of the crust and we have computed thermal evolution models to study the influence of radiogenic heating and hydrothermal crustal cooling on lower crustal temperatures. In the presence and absence of hydrothermal crustal cooling and for an average crustal thickness of 45 km, radiogenic heating after core formation cannot have exceeded 58 and 43 pW kg À1 , respectively. Furthermore, if the average crustal thickness is closer to 50 km, heating cannot have exceeded 49 and 36 pW kg À1 . A better knowledge of the planet's average crustal thickness, which may be obtained from seismological experiments, could help to further constrain the planets bulk composition and even rule out some of the compositional models for Mars that have been proposed so far.Citation: Grott, M., and D. Breuer (2008), Constraints on the radiogenic heat production rate in the Martian interior from viscous relaxation of crustal thickness variations, Geophys. Res. Lett., 35, L05201,

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Ice in the Martian Regolith

Cited by 106 publications

References 0 publications

Episodic flood inundations of the northern plains of Mars

Episodic flood inundations of the northern plains of Mars

The state, potential distribution, and biological implications of methane in the Martian crust

Constraints on the radiogenic heat production rate in the Martian interior from viscous relaxation of crustal thickness variations

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