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The case for a wet, warm climate on early mars
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Pollack, J. B. Richardson, S. M. Poliakoff, K. Kasting, J. F. |
| Copyright Year | 1987 |
| Description | Arguments are presented in support of the idea that Mars possessed a dense CO2 atmosphere and a wet, warm climate early in its history. The plausibility of a CO2 greenhouse is tested by formulating a simple model of the CO2 geochemical cycle on early Mars. By scaling the rate of silicate weathering on Earth, researchers estimated a weathering time constant of the order of several times 10 to the 7th power years for early Mars. Thus, a dense atmosphere could have existed for a geologically significant time period (approx. 10 to the 9th power years) only if atmospheric CO2 was being continuously resupplied. The most likely mechanism by which this could have been accomplished is the thermal decomposition of carbonate rocks induced directly or indirectly by intense, global scale volcanism. |
| File Size | 50653 |
| Page Count | 1 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_19870013977 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t9m37q984 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 1987-05-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Lunar And Planetary Exploration Water Climate Atmospheric Composition Greenhouse Effect Mars Planet Carbon Dioxide Mars Atmosphere Silicates Mars Volcanoes Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
