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AOSS 749 2008 Fall Seminar Series
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AOSS 749 2008 Fall Seminar Series
Nilton Renno, Associate Professor of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Michigan. "Evidence for Liquid Water on Mars" The objective of the Phoenix Mars mission is to determine if Mars’ polar region can support life. Since liquid water is a basic ingredient for life, as we know, an important goal of the mission is to determine if liquid water exists at the landing site. It is believed that a layer of martian soil preserves ice by forming a barrier against high temperatures and sublimation, but that exposed ice sublimates without the formation of the liquid phase. We show independent physical and thermodynamical evidence that besides ice, liquid saline-water exists in areas disturbed by the Phoenix lander. Moreover, we show that the thermodynamics of freeze-thaw cycles ranging from diurnal to climatic time-scales leads to the formation of saline solutions with freezing temperatures much higher than current summer ground temperatures where surface ice exists near the surface. Thus, we hypothesize that liquid saline-water is common on Mars. This discovery has important implications for the stability of water, weathering, glaciology, mineralogy, geochemistry and the habitability of Mars. October 23, 2008 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm |
