Martian “Climate” Change
November 6th 2011 11:22
Category: Mars
Mars
Did Mars at one time posses a warmer climate, did it have an abundance of water?
How could we tell if Mars did have a warmer climate apart from take Mars’ temperature and vital signs.
There are other avenues aside form actually being there and taking climate samples.
In the past two decades thanks to spate of remote rovers that roam the surface of the red planet have, a great deal has been learned. We have established that Mars has water perhaps not in liquid form. Most of the polar regions of Mars have frozen ice, perhaps more water is trapped in the permafrost just below the Martian surface.
There have been a few interesting developments about Mars past climate history.
Most will be familiar with meteorite ALH 84001 a piece of space rock found in icy plains of Antarctica in 1984. Some years later ALH 84001became a real talking point after it was found that ALH 84001 originated from Mars.
There was a lot of controversy about the Martian rock sample when a group of researchers
claimed to have found evidence of dead fossilised bacteria. Most of this evidence has been discounted.
However because the meteorite is old (about 4.1 billion years) it does have past information stored within the sample in the form of tiny rounded nodules of carbonate embedded deep within the layered composition of the meteorite .
The relative abundances of the rare isotopes oxygen-18 and carbon-13 which is very sensitive to formation temperature can give a definitive answer on Mars’ past climate history.
Analysis of tiny carbonate deposits found in ALH84001 does support the theory that Mars did have a much warmer climate in the past. The past climate on Mars may have had a temperature as high as 64°F (18°C) warm enough to have liquid water and even vast oceans.
Mars eventually went into a global deep-freeze that continues to this day.
ALH 84001 was most likely propelled into space by a huge volcanic explosion or planetary impact.
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Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief
Comment by CMoreStars
Astroearth
Camera Sense
If there are any Martians living on Mars I don’t think they would take too kindly to Al.
Comment by S.L.
The Political Brief