Spectroscopic Analysis of Soil-H_2O-CO_2 Ice Mixtures at Temperatures Ranging from 75 to 160 K and Implications for Mars

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

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Spectroscopic measurements from 4000 to 400 cm(-1) (2.5 to 25 mu m) of Mars soil analog - ice mixtures have been performed. The analog material is a chemically-treated montmorillonite containing nanophase ferric oxide species (1). Previous spectral experiments of Mars soil analogs under reduced atmospheric pressures and temperatures showed that the spectral features due to water in these soils were substantially weakened, while those due to metal-OH in the structure were intensified or resolved as the temperature was decreased from 295 to 230 K (2). The H_2O-CO_2 and soil-H_2O-CO_2 ice mixtures measured here were prepared as in previous experiments (3). A thin coating of the Mars soil analog was deposited electrostatically on an Al substrate in air, then evacuated and cooled. The atmospheric pressure and temperature were reduced to Mars-like conditions and 1-10 mu m thick films of ice were deposited from a gas stream onto the frozen Mars analog material. Spectra of the Mars soil analog material alone showed that the structure of the smectite clay remained intact down to 75 K and that the spectral features due to water in the soils decreased substantially, but not completely. The spectral character of the soil-H_2O-CO_2 ice includes features characteristic of the clay, water and CO_2 at 75 K; however, the CO_2 features gradually decrease in intensity above 100 K and are no longer observed at 160 K. These experiments show that the spectrally dominant component of soil-H_2O-CO_2 ice mixtures is temperature dependent and that the components of soil-ice permafrost on Mars should be identifiable via infrared spectroscopy. (1) Bishop J. et al, 1995, Icarus 117, 101. (2) Bishop J. & Pieters C., 1995, JGR 100, 5369. (3) Moore M. & Hudson R., 1994, Astr. Astrophys. Suppl. 103, 45; Moore M. et al, 1994, Astrophys. J., 428, L81.

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