Methane release on Early Mars by atmospheric collapse and atmospheric reinflation

Kite, Edwin S.; Mischna, M. A.; Yung, Yuk L.; Turbet, Martin

doi:10.1016/j.pss.2019.104820

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 145 publications

(218 reference statements)

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“…Seasonal snowmelt in an icy climate would not be able to produce the required runoff rates to form the valleys either (Kite et al, ). A new study invokes the situation in Earth's Antarctica Dry Valleys to suggest that seasonal warming on early Mars may have occurred with a ~255 K mean surface temperature (Kite et al, ). However, our model predicts negligible hydrologic activity at such low mean surface temperatures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We have assessed the precipitation and runoff rates for three ocean sizes and selected latitude bands at 87.5°S and at a representative tropical latitude that has a preponderance of valley networks (27.5°S) (e.g., Di Achille Average annual temperatures (black) and minimum (blue dashed) and maximum (red dashed) seasonal temperatures are also shown. The atmosphere for our model Earth consisted of 1 bar N 2 with 330 ppm CO 2 , following previous work (e.g., Kasting et al, 1993). Ocean and continental fractions were determined using the data of Kossinna (1921).…”

Section: Mebm Precipitation and Runoff Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Climate Simulations of Early Mars With Estimated Precipitation, Runoff, and Erosion Rates

2020

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The debate over the early Martian climate is among the most intriguing in planetary science. Although the geologic evidence generally supports a warmer and wetter climate, climate models have had difficulty simulating such a scenario, leading some to suggest that the observed fluvial geology (e.g., valley networks, modified landscapes) on the Martian surface could have formed in a cold climate instead. However, as we have originally predicted using a single‐column radiative‐convective climate model (Ramirez, Kopparapu, Zugger, et al., 2014, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2000), warming from CO2‐H2 collision‐induced absorption on a volcanically active early Mars could have raised mean surface temperatures above the freezing point, with later calculations showing that this is achievable with hydrogen concentrations as low as ~1%. Nevertheless, these predictions should be tested against more complex models. Here we use an advanced energy balance model that includes a northern lowlands ocean to show that mean surface temperatures near or slightly above the freezing point of water were necessary to carve the valley networks. Our scenario is consistent with a relatively large ocean as has been suggested. Valley network distributions would have been global prior to subsequent removal processes. At lower mean surface temperatures and smaller ocean sizes, precipitation and surface erosion efficiency diminish. The warm period may have been approximately <107 years, perhaps suggesting that episodic warming mechanisms were not needed. Atmospheric collapse and permanently glaciated conditions occur once surface ice coverage exceeds a threshold depending on collision‐induced absorption assumptions. Our results support an early warm and semiarid climate consistent with many geologic observations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Mebm Precipitation and Runoff Estimatesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Simulations of Early Mars With Estimated Precipitation, Runoff, and Erosion Rates

2020

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“…This CO 2 -CH 4 disequilibrium pair is more compelling than CH 4 alone, which could be primordial from a migrated icy world or outgassed from an extremely reducing mantle. An atmosphere rich in CO 2 and CH 4 has been proposed to explain a warm early Mars (62), but this atmosphere would be very transient (<1 million years) because CH 4 released from clathrates would be rapidly photodissociated.…”

Section: Interpretation Of Early Earth Disequilibriummentioning

confidence: 99%

Disequilibrium biosignatures over Earth history and implications for detecting exoplanet life

2018

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“…The second hypothesis is that Mars is not active anymore, but the early methane was trapped deep below the surface in ice structures called clathrates (Chastain & Chevrier, 2007; Gainey & Elwood Madden, 2012; Kite et al., 2020; Max & Clifford, 2000). These clathrates would be confined to the limits of their stability zone, so that a slight perturbation could release the low amount of methane observed in the atmosphere (Elwood Madden et al., 2007).…”

Section: Significance For Gas Productionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbonate‐Phyllosilicate Parageneses and Environments of Aqueous Alteration in Nili Fossae and Mars

Chevrier¹,

Morisson²

2021

JGR Planets

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The equilibrium thermodynamics of Fe/Mg-phyllosilicates and carbonates have been investigated using numerical modeling, with emphasis on the effects of evaporation and temperature (hydrothermalism) under conditions related to present-day and primitive Mars, that is, low or high CO 2 partial pressure, under oxidizing or reducing environments. Findings are discussed in relation to alteration and weathering of minerals found in the Nili Fossae region. Results show that nontronite precipitates at very high water-to-precipitate ratio and low temperature, in association with ferrihydrite. During evaporation, this assemblage leads to carbonates: calcite and magnesite, and to low temperature iron-rich serpentine phyllosilicates such as cronstedtite or berthierine under reducing conditions. At high temperature, the initial paragenesis dominated by nontronite leads to hematite and berthierine at low CO 2 partial pressure, and to talc, magnesite and antigorite at high CO 2 partial pressure. Thus, the Fe/Mg-smectites, Mg-carbonate, and Mg-serpentine found near Nili Fossae may result from several alteration events. Weathering of primitive bedrock formed nontronite, with subsequent or concurrent hydrothermalism leading to Mg-serpentine. Further carbonation due to CO 2 -rich fluids led to talc, magnesite and to hydrogen/carbon monoxide/methane in the presence of iron, but at relatively low partial pressures (up to 10 −4 bar). Unless the serpentinization process acted for extended periods of time and over a large portion of the martian surface, it is unlikely it significantly contributed to the atmospheric composition, except maybe for H 2 . However, such water-rich active environments with the presence of redox reactions could have been suitable for the potential emergence of biological activity.Plain Language Summary Multiple locations on Mars exhibit phyllosilicate deposits, which have been used as indicators of temperate paleoenvironments with abundant liquid water. Of these, Nili Fossae is one of the rare occurrences where additional phases such as carbonates or serpentine are found. These minerals also pinpoint to possible hydrothermal activity, which is very important for the putative emergence of biologic activity on the red planet. Our work aims at understanding these various environments using numerical thermodynamic simulations of the mineral assemblages observed in this province. We observe that Mg,Fe-phyllosilicates such as nontronite form in low temperatures environments with very abundant water, and relatively oxidizing conditions (so rather on the surface) while magnesite and serpentine mixtures are characterized by higher temperatures (typically 200-300 °C) in the presence of high CO 2 partial pressures and more reducing conditions. Such hydrothermal reactions should also have led to the formations of hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and perhaps methane, but at concentrations probably too low to allow for global warming on Mars, unless they would have been significantly extended geographically and temporally. Nonethel...

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Methane release on Early Mars by atmospheric collapse and atmospheric reinflation

Cited by 18 publications

References 145 publications

Climate Simulations of Early Mars With Estimated Precipitation, Runoff, and Erosion Rates

Climate Simulations of Early Mars With Estimated Precipitation, Runoff, and Erosion Rates

Disequilibrium biosignatures over Earth history and implications for detecting exoplanet life

Carbonate‐Phyllosilicate Parageneses and Environments of Aqueous Alteration in Nili Fossae and Mars

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