Tharsis Superplume and the Geological Evolution of Early Mars

Author(s):  
Victor R. Baker ◽  
Shigenori Maruyama ◽  
James M. Dohm
1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 203-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tobias C. Owen

AbstractThe clear evidence of water erosion on the surface of Mars suggests an early climate much more clement than the present one. Using a model for the origin of inner planet atmospheres by icy planetesimal impact, it is possible to reconstruct the original volatile inventory on Mars, starting from the thin atmosphere we observe today. Evidence for cometary impact can be found in the present abundances and isotope ratios of gases in the atmosphere and in SNC meteorites. If we invoke impact erosion to account for the present excess of129Xe, we predict an early inventory equivalent to at least 7.5 bars of CO2. This reservoir of volatiles is adequate to produce a substantial greenhouse effect, provided there is some small addition of SO2(volcanoes) or reduced gases (cometary impact). Thus it seems likely that conditions on early Mars were suitable for the origin of life – biogenic elements and liquid water were present at favorable conditions of pressure and temperature. Whether life began on Mars remains an open question, receiving hints of a positive answer from recent work on one of the Martian meteorites. The implications for habitable zones around other stars include the need to have rocky planets with sufficient mass to preserve atmospheres in the face of intensive early bombardment.


2004 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 203-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Everett K. Gibson ◽  
Kathie L. Thomas-Keprta ◽  
Simon J. Clemett ◽  
David S. Mckay ◽  
Christopher Romanek ◽  
...  

Martian Meteorite ALH84001 contains four unusual features which have been interpreted as possible signatures of relic biogenic activity. After six years of intense study by the world's scientific community, the current status of the biogenic hypothesis is reviewed and shown to still be valid. Furthermore additional features have been observed in two younger Martian meteorites. The strongest argument for possible evidence of biogenic activity within the ALH84001 meteorite is the presence of truncated hexa-octahedral magnetite crystals which are only known on Earth to be the products of biology.


Icarus ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 114542
Author(s):  
Marco Veneranda ◽  
Jose Antonio Manrique-Martinez ◽  
Clara Garcia-Prieto ◽  
Aurelio Sanz-Arranz ◽  
Jesús Saiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
José Pablo Sepúlveda ◽  
Felipe Aguilera ◽  
Manuel Inostroza ◽  
María Paz Reyes

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 539
Author(s):  
Benton C. Clark ◽  
Vera M. Kolb ◽  
Andrew Steele ◽  
Christopher H. House ◽  
Nina L. Lanza ◽  
...  

Although the habitability of early Mars is now well established, its suitability for conditions favorable to an independent origin of life (OoL) has been less certain. With continued exploration, evidence has mounted for a widespread diversity of physical and chemical conditions on Mars that mimic those variously hypothesized as settings in which life first arose on Earth. Mars has also provided water, energy sources, CHNOPS elements, critical catalytic transition metal elements, as well as B, Mg, Ca, Na and K, all of which are elements associated with life as we know it. With its highly favorable sulfur abundance and land/ocean ratio, early wet Mars remains a prime candidate for its own OoL, in many respects superior to Earth. The relatively well-preserved ancient surface of planet Mars helps inform the range of possible analogous conditions during the now-obliterated history of early Earth. Continued exploration of Mars also contributes to the understanding of the opportunities for settings enabling an OoL on exoplanets. Favoring geochemical sediment samples for eventual return to Earth will enhance assessments of the likelihood of a Martian OoL.


2016 ◽  
Vol 121 (11) ◽  
pp. 2239-2267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Salese ◽  
Veronique Ansan ◽  
Nicolas Mangold ◽  
John Carter ◽  
Anouck Ody ◽  
...  

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