Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2008
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008agufm.u14a..10r&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2008, abstract #U14A-10
Physics
5405 Atmospheres (0343, 1060), 5462 Polar Regions
Scientific paper
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 sublimation, but that exposed ice sublimates without the formation of the liquid phase. Here we show 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 freezing/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 is believed to exist 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.
Bos Brent Jon
Clark Ben C.
Drube L.
Fisher David
Goetz Walter
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