Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2003
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003agufm.p52a0477a&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2003, abstract #P52A-0477
Other
0400 Biogeosciences, 1829 Groundwater Hydrology, 5420 Impact Phenomena (Includes Cratering), 8135 Hydrothermal Systems (8424)
Scientific paper
An understanding of impact-generated hydrothermal systems is crucial for deciphering the environment on early Earth and Mars, as well as predicting promising locations for finding evidence of past life on Mars. Impact events and early life may be tightly connected -- a sudden increase in the number of impact events which occurred at ˜3.9 Ga coincides remarkably well with the earliest isotopic evidence of life on Earth at ˜3.85 Ga, and hydrothermal systems generated by impact events can provide a habitable environment for thermophilic organisms. Several hydrothermal systems associated with terrestrial impact craters have been identified on the basis of mineralogical evidence. Examples of known systems include the 35 km Manson crater, the 80 km Puchezh-Katunki crater, and the 250 km Sudbury crater. In order to better constrain the expected lifetimes of these systems and further understand their mechanics, a finite-difference computer simulation is used to evaluate the effects of convective cooling by circulating water and steam. In this work we present modeling results of water and heat transport shortly after the formation of the Sudbury impact crater in present-day Ontario, Canada. Our model predicts that an impact-induced hydrothermal system associated with a Sudbury-sized impact crater can remain active for at least 105 - 106 years. While the location and volume of the habitable zone within the crater changes as the crater undergoes cooling, it is sufficiently long-lived for an ecosystem to develop. The insight into the mechanics of these systems gained from this model can help locate hydrothermal vents and hydrothermally altered minerals at Martian impact craters.
Abramov Oleg
Kring David A.
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