Indications of brine related local seepage phenomena on the northern hemisphere of Mars

Keresztúri, A.; Möhlmann, D.; Bérczi, Sz.; Gánti, T.; Horváth, András; Kuti, A.; Sik, A.; Szathmáry, Eörs

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2009.10.012

Cited by 47 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, measurements of the total amount of water (chemically and physically bound, liquid as well as frozen) in certain surface areas suggest the possible occurrence of water in a range of up to 10 % (Feldman, 2004). Recently observed rheological processes such as sedimentation and water percolation phenomena at dune slopes (Kereszturi et al, 2008(Kereszturi et al, , 2010) and a high oxidation state of material from the Martian surface (Möhlmann, 2004) give further indication of the existence of water. The outstanding role of a few monolayers of liquidlike water for the development of life is also shown in experimental investigations on terrestrial permafrost bacteria (Rivkina et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Supercooled interfacial water in fine-grained soils probed by dielectric spectroscopy

Lorek

Wagner

2013

The Cryosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract.Water substantially affects nearly all physical, chemical and biological processes on the Earth. Recent Mars observations as well as laboratory investigations suggest that water is a key factor of current physical and chemical processes on the Martian surface, e.g. rheological phenomena. Therefore it is of particular interest to get information about the liquid-like state of water on Martian analogue soils for temperatures below 0 • C. To this end, a parallel plate capacitor has been developed to obtain isothermal dielectric spectra of fine-grained soils in the frequency range from 10 Hz to 1.1 MHz at Martian-like temperatures down to −70 • C. Two Martian analogue soils have been investigated: a Ca-bentonite (specific surface of 237 m 2 g −1 , up to 9.4 % w/w gravimetric water content) and JSC Mars 1, a volcanic ash (specific surface of 146 m 2 g −1 , up to 7.4 % w/w). Three soil-specific relaxation processes are observed in the investigated frequency-temperature range: two weak highfrequency processes (bound or hydrated water as well as ice) and a strong low-frequency process due to counter-ion relaxation and the Maxwell-Wagner effect. To characterize the dielectric relaxation behaviour, a generalized fractional dielectric relaxation model was applied assuming three active relaxation processes with relaxation time of the ith process modelled with an Eyring equation. The real part of effective complex soil permittivity at 350 kHz was used to determine ice and liquid-like water content by means of the Birchak or CRIM equation. There are evidence that bentonite down to −70 • C has a liquid-like water content of 1.17 monolayers and JSC Mars 1 a liquid-like water content of 1.96 monolayers.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Supercooled interfacial water in fine-grained soils probed by dielectric spectroscopy

Lorek

Wagner

2013

The Cryosphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…(2) Dark dune flows (Fenton et al 2003;Kieffer et al 2006;Horvath et al 2009;Kereszturi et al 2009;Gardin et al 2010Hansen et al 2011Hansen et al , 2013 are several tens of metres long and metres wide emanating from Dark Dune Spots and they form during local spring at low temperatures (150-180 K; Kereszturi et al 2010) The leading hypothesis for the dark flows is that the material deposited in the dark spots is remobilized by ongoing sublimation of CO 2 slab ice (Gardin et al 2010). An alternative hypothesis is that these dark flows are caused by viscous liquid film flow Kereszturi et al 2010). This flow involves the formation of an interfacial water film on the sand grains and the presence of brines to decrease the eutectic point (down to 245 K).…”

Section: Implication For Martian Landscape Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Downslope sediment transport by boiling liquid water under Mars-like conditions: experiments and potential implications for Martian gullies

Herny

Conway

Raack

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Gullies are widespread morphological features on Mars for which current changes have been observed. Liquid water has been one of the potential mechanisms to explain their formation and activity. However, under present-day Martian conditions, liquid water is unstable and should only be transiently present in small amounts at the surface. Yet little attention has been paid to the mechanisms by which unstable water transports sediment under low atmospheric pressure. Here we present the results of laboratory experiments studying the interaction between liquid water flowing over a sand bed under Mars-like atmospheric pressure (c. 9 mbar). The experiments were performed in a Mars Simulation Chamber (at the Open University, UK), in which we placed a test bed of fine sand at a 25°slope. We chose to investigate the influence of two parameters: the temperature of the water and the temperature of the sand. We performed 27 experiments with nine different combinations of water and sand temperatures ranging from 278 to 297 K. Under all experimental conditions, the water was boiling. We investigated and compared the types and timing of sediment transport events, and the shapes, characteristics and volumes of the resulting morphologies. In agreement with previous laboratory studies we found that more intense boiling increased the volume of sediment transported for a given volume of water. We found four main types of sediment transport: entrainment by overland flow; grain ejection; grain avalanches; and levitation of saturated sand pellets. Our results showed that increasing sand temperature was the main driving parameter in increasing the sand transport and in modifying the dominant sediment transport mechanism. The temperature of the water played a negligible or minor role, apart from the duration of sand ejection and avalanches, which lasted longer at low water temperature. At low sand temperature the majority of the sand was transported by overland flow of the liquid water. At higher sand temperatures the transport was dominated by processes triggered by the boiling behaviour of the water. At the highest temperatures, sediment transport was dominated by the formation of levitating pellets, dry avalanches and ejection of the sand grains. This resulted in a transport volume about nine times greater at a sand temperature of 297 K compared with 278 K. Our heat transfer scaling shows that the boiling behaviour will be enhanced under Martian low gravity, resulting in more efficient transport of sediment by levitating sand pellets even at temperatures close to the triple point. Our results showed that the boiling intensity played an important role in the physics of sediment transport by liquid water. This implied that the amount of water required to produce morphological changes at the surface of Mars could be lower than previously estimated by assuming stable liquid water. Boiling is a critical process to be considered when assessing gully formation and modification mechanisms mobilized by liquid water. Our work could ha...

show abstract

“…Several surface manifestations and observations have been linked with potential water in the liquid state as a result of brine formation (Figures , , and ) on contemporary Mars. The most likely but highly debated possible briny features per the published literature are slope streaks (e.g., Ferris et al, ; Kreslavsky & Head, ; Miyamoto et al, ; Schorghofer et al, ) (Figure ), recurring slope lineae (RSL; e.g., McEwen et al, ; Ojha et al, ; Figure ), and dark dune spots (DDS; e.g., Kereszturi et al, , , ; Martinez et al, ; Möhlmann & Kereszturi, ; Figure ). For the interested readers, an excellent review of these briny features and their intercomparisons can be found in Martínez and Renno ().…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are Slope Streaks Indicative of Global‐Scale Aqueous Processes on Contemporary Mars?

Bhardwaj

Sam

Martín-Torres

et al. 2019

Reviews of Geophysics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Slope streaks are prevalent and intriguing dark albedo surface features on contemporary Mars.Slope streaks are readily observed in the equatorial and subequatorial dusty regolith regions with low thermal inertia. They gradually fade over decadal timescales. The proposed mechanisms for their formation vary widely based on several physicochemical and geomorphological explanations. The scientific community is divided in proposing both dry and wet mechanisms for the formation of slope streaks. Here we perform a systematic evaluation of the literature for these wet and dry mechanisms. We discuss the probable constraints on the various proposed mechanisms and provide perspectives on the plausible process driving global-scale slope streak formation on contemporary Mars. Although per our understanding, a thorough consideration of the global distribution of slope streaks, their morphology and topography, flow characteristics, physicochemical and atmospheric coincidences, and terrestrial analogies weighs more in favor of several wet mechanisms, we acknowledge that such wet mechanisms cannot explain all the reported morphological and terrain variations of slope streaks. Thus, we suggest that explanations considering both dry and wet processes can more holistically describe all the observed morphological variations among slope streaks. We further acknowledge the constraints on the resolutions of remote sensing data and on our understanding of the Martian mineralogy, climate, and atmosphere and recommend continuous investigations in this direction using future remote sensing acquisitions and simulations. In this regard, finding more wet and dry terrestrial analogs for Martian slope streaks and studying them at high spatiotemporal resolutions can greatly improve our understanding.Plain Language Summary Slope streaks are prevalent surface features on contemporary Mars.They have dark albedo and are abundant in the equatorial and subequatorial latitudes. The exact mechanisms behind their formation and development are still unknown, and several hypotheses have been proposed based on the physicochemical and geomorphological properties of slope streaks. These features generate a common interest because several hypotheses have linked them with transiently flowing liquid water on the Martian surface. Such probable linkages with Martian liquid water can have wide implications for understanding habitability conditions and ongoing water cycles on Mars and for evolving planetary protection policies to prevent possible contamination of Martian surface during future missions. Therefore, here we perform a systematic evaluation of the literature covering morphological and flow characteristics of slope streaks for water-driven or dry dust avalanche mechanisms. We discuss the probable limitations of the various proposed models for slope streak development and provide perspectives on the plausible processes driving global-scale slope streak formations on Mars. Continuously improving satellite and rover observations of Martian surface, topography...

show abstract

Indications of brine related local seepage phenomena on the northern hemisphere of Mars

Cited by 47 publications

References 27 publications

Supercooled interfacial water in fine-grained soils probed by dielectric spectroscopy

Supercooled interfacial water in fine-grained soils probed by dielectric spectroscopy

Downslope sediment transport by boiling liquid water under Mars-like conditions: experiments and potential implications for Martian gullies

Are Slope Streaks Indicative of Global‐Scale Aqueous Processes on Contemporary Mars?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About