Martian Atmospheric Erosion Rates

Details Martian Atmospheric Erosion Rates Martian Atmospheric Erosion Rates

Jan 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007sci...315..501b&link_type=abstract

Science, Volume 315, Issue 5811, pp. 501- (2007).

Other

65

Scientific paper

Mars was once wet but is now dry, and the fate of its ancient carbon dioxide atmosphere is one of the biggest puzzles in martian planetology. We have measured the current loss rate due to the solar wind interaction for different species: Q(O+) = 1.6·1023 per second = 4 grams per second (g s-1), Q(O2+) = 1.5·1023 s-1 = 8 g s-1, and Q(CO2+) = 8·1022 s-1 = 6 g s-1 in the energy range of 30 to 30,000 electron volts per charge. These rates can be propagated backward over a period of 3.5 billion years, resulting in the total removal of 0.2 to 4 millibar of carbon dioxide and a few centimeters of water. The escape rate is low, and thus one has to continue searching for water reservoirs and carbon dioxide stores on or beneath the planetary surface and investigate other escape channels.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Martian Atmospheric Erosion Rates does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Martian Atmospheric Erosion Rates, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Martian Atmospheric Erosion Rates will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1658641