More on Mars<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3> - Why is Mars red?<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/li>
- How did Mars lose its water?<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/li>
- Could we really live on Mars?<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/li> <\/ul> <\/div>
J. Bell (Cornell U.), P. James (U. Toledo), M. Wolff (Space Science Institute), A. Lubenow (STScI), J. Neubert (MIT\/Cornell) <\/figcaption> <\/figure> <\/div> <\/div> Mars was once a much wetter world, its surface water kept in place by a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere.<\/p>
Then, around 3.5 billion years ago, both the water and the atmosphere disappeared.<\/p> ![\"Mars](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2023\/05\/perseverance-rover-pinestand-161b5a3-e1683873070699.jpeg\")
Mars is a barren landscape, but was warmer and wetter in its ancient past. So where did its atmosphere go? Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU\/MSSS <\/figcaption> <\/figure> Planetary geologists have studied Mars for years trying to discover where its atmosphere went, but the answer may finally have come from those looking at our own planet, and a group of researchers at MIT who were investigating smectites.\u00a0<\/p>
Each grain of the minerals contains multiple folds that can trap carbon-bearing molecules for billions of years.<\/p>
By chance, the research team looked at a map of Mars and realised the Red Planet is covered in smectites.\u00a0<\/p>
“These smectite clays have so much capacity to store carbon,\u201d says Joshua Murray from MIT, who led the study.<\/p>
“So then we used existing knowledge of how these minerals are stored in clays on Earth, and extrapolated to say, if the Martian surface has this much clay in it, how much [carbon] can you store in ![\"Based](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2024\/11\/mars-surface-clay.jpg\")
Based on how minerals are stored in clays on Earth, researchers think that Mars clay could hold huge amounts of carbon. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU\/MSSS <\/figcaption> <\/figure> Mars\u2019s smectite clays started life as rocks packed with an iron-rich mineral called olivine.<\/p>
Over time, the oxygen in the water reacted with the olivine\u2019s iron, oxidising it and turning it the rust-red colour that Mars is famous for.<\/p>
Meanwhile, the hydrogen atoms in the water molecules reacted with any available carbon dioxide, forming methane.<\/p>
“At this time in Mars\u2019s history, we think\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0is everywhere, in every nook and cranny, and the water percolating through the rocks is full of carbon dioxide\u00a0too,” says Murray.<\/p>
Over millions of years, the clays then continued reacting with water to form smectites, which then trapped the methane within them, the MIT researchers say.<\/p>
Their study estimates that as much as 80% of Mars\u2019s early thick atmosphere could have been sequestered in this way.<\/p>
“This methane could still be present and maybe even used as an energy source on Mars in the future,” says geology professor Oliver Jagoutz, also from MIT, who co-authored the research.<\/p>
Mars was once a much wetter world, its surface water kept in place by a thick carbon dioxide atmosphere.<\/p>
Then, around 3.5 billion years ago, both the water and the atmosphere disappeared.<\/p> Planetary geologists have studied Mars for years trying to discover where its atmosphere went, but the answer may finally have come from those looking at our own planet, and a group of researchers at MIT who were investigating smectites.\u00a0<\/p> Each grain of the minerals contains multiple folds that can trap carbon-bearing molecules for billions of years.<\/p> By chance, the research team looked at a map of Mars and realised the Red Planet is covered in smectites.\u00a0<\/p> “These smectite clays have so much capacity to store carbon,\u201d says Joshua Murray from MIT, who led the study.<\/p> “So then we used existing knowledge of how these minerals are stored in clays on Earth, and extrapolated to say, if the Martian surface has this much clay in it, how much [carbon] can you store in Mars\u2019s smectite clays started life as rocks packed with an iron-rich mineral called olivine.<\/p> Over time, the oxygen in the water reacted with the olivine\u2019s iron, oxidising it and turning it the rust-red colour that Mars is famous for.<\/p> Meanwhile, the hydrogen atoms in the water molecules reacted with any available carbon dioxide, forming methane.<\/p> “At this time in Mars\u2019s history, we think\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0is everywhere, in every nook and cranny, and the water percolating through the rocks is full of carbon dioxide\u00a0too,” says Murray.<\/p> Over millions of years, the clays then continued reacting with water to form smectites, which then trapped the methane within them, the MIT researchers say.<\/p> Their study estimates that as much as 80% of Mars\u2019s early thick atmosphere could have been sequestered in this way.<\/p> “This methane could still be present and maybe even used as an energy source on Mars in the future,” says geology professor Oliver Jagoutz, also from MIT, who co-authored the research.<\/p>