Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufm.p41a..03h&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #P41A-03
Physics
6225 Mars, 8149 Planetary Tectonics (5475), 8450 Planetary Volcanism (5480)
Scientific paper
There are three main epochs in Mars' climate history for which the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) is providing some new insights and puzzles. The first is the early Mars period (4.5- 3.5 Gya). For this period, the hematite outcrops, layered deposits, shoreline evidence, and some channel features, all argue for standing bodies of liquid water for extensive periods of time. An early warm and wet Mars is certainly not a new idea, but the MGS data further support the possibility. However, the role of the early Mars climate system in providing conditions conducive to the presence of liquid water remains uncertain. The second period deals with most of Mars' history where several lines of evidence argue for the presence of substantial amounts of ice on the surface. This evidence includes anomalous landforms attributed to glaciation, and deltas, shorelines, and various flow features within impact craters that provide evidence for paleolakes. The interpretation of these features implies climate change, but again how the climate changes and in what way - if at all - is uncertain. The final period is the present climate system for which MGS is providing very important new observations. By monitoring the present dust, water, and CO2 cycles and how the general circulation controls them, MGS will help define the processes controlling the present climate system. The key to understanding climate change on Mars may very well depend on how well we can understand the present climate system.
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