Multiple subglacial water bodies below the south pole of Mars unveiled by new MARSIS data

Lauro, Sebastian; Pettinelli, Elena; Caprarelli, Graziella; Guallini, L.; Rossi, Angelo Pio; Mattei, Elisabetta; Cosciotti, Barbara; Cicchetti, A.; Soldovieri, Francesco; Cartacci, M.; Paolo, Federico Di; Noschese, R.; Orosei, R.

doi:10.1038/s41550-020-1200-6

Cited by 162 publications

(203 citation statements)

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“…Thus, as observed, over time volcanism would be expected to wane on Mars. Recent analyses of radar data from the MARSIS has interpreted bright subsurface reflectors as indications of liquid water at the base of the SPLD (Lauro et al., 2020; Orosei et al., 2018). Augmentation of the background heat flux by at least 72 mW/m 2 provided by extremely recent magmatism has been proposed as a potential source of heat for the putative liquid water (Sori & Bramson, 2019).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Martian Mantle Heat Flow Estimate From the Lack of Lithospheric Flexure in the South Pole of Mars: Implications for Planetary Evolution and Basal Melting

Ojha

Karimi

Buffo

et al. 2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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The long-term geological evolution of a planet is dependent on the bulk concentration of the long-lived heat-producing element (HPE; 238 U, 235 U, 232 Th, and 40 K) and their distribution between the crust and the mantle. High enrichment of HPE in the crust depletes the mantle of heat production and lowers the mantle potential temperature. In contrast, crust with lower enrichment of HPE thermally insulates the mantle increasing the mantle potential temperature (e.g., O'Neill et al., 2005). The thermal state of a planet's mantle modulates its convection, which influences volcanism, crustal tectonics, and geomagnetism (e.g., Stevenson, 2007). These geological processes directly impact hydrospheric and atmospheric processes (e.g.,

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Martian Mantle Heat Flow Estimate From the Lack of Lithospheric Flexure in the South Pole of Mars: Implications for Planetary Evolution and Basal Melting

Ojha

Karimi

Buffo

et al. 2021

Geophysical Research Letters

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“…The south polar caps also consist of thick deposits of water ice (Byrne 2009) beneath which substantial amounts of ice-water and layers of ice sheets have also been detected by the Mars Advanced Radar aboard the Mars Express space craft (Orosei et al 2018(Orosei et al , 2020Lauro et al 2020). As detected by neutron spectroscopy these ice sheets extend from the south pole into the lower latitudes (Feldman et al 2002).…”

Section: Subglacial Lakes Oceans Oxygen and Abiotic Photosynthesismentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Moreover, there appears to be a large volume of liquid water beneath the surface, i.e. melt water due to some unknown thermal anomaly (Arnold et al 2019;Sori and Bramson 2019); and there is evidence of multiple subglacial lakes that may contain liquid water as well as water-ice (Lauro et al 2020;Picardi et al 2005).…”

Section: Subglacial Lakes Oceans Oxygen and Abiotic Photosynthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on data provided by orbital observations and the Mars Science Laboratory and its Environmental Monitoring Station, four major reservoirs of Martian water have been identified, i.e. in the northern and south poles (Kieffer et al 1992;Farmer et al 1977;Orosei et al 2018Orosei et al , 2020Lauro et al 2020), in the upper atmosphere which is subject to "large, rapid seasonal intrusions of water" with large portions of the atmosphere becoming supersaturated during the Spring and Summer (Fedorova et al 2020), and within atmospheric vapors every spring and summer (Farmer et al 1977;Korablev et al 2001;Smith et al 2001;Read and Lewis 2004;Smith 2004;Todd et al 2017). These columns of water vapor may also contribute to the formation of Martian clouds observed by several investigators (Kahn 1984;Whiteway et al 2009;Moores et al 2015); and which, like the clouds of Earth, probably contain high concentrations of water.…”

Section: Subglacial Lakes Oceans Oxygen and Abiotic Photosynthesismentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mars: Life, Subglacial Oceans, Abiogenic Photosynthesis, Seasonal Increases and Replenishment of Atmospheric Oxygen

et al. 2020

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The discovery and subsequent investigations of atmospheric oxygen on Mars are reviewed. Free oxygen is a biomarker produced by photosynthesizing organisms. Oxygen is reactive and on Mars may be destroyed in 10 years and is continually replenished. Diurnal and spring/summer increases in oxygen have been documented, and these variations parallel biologically induced fluctuations on Earth. Data from the Viking biological experiments also support active biology, though these results have been disputed. Although there is no conclusive proof of current or past life on Mars, organic matter has been detected and specimens resembling green algae / cyanobacteria, lichens, stromatolites, and open apertures and fenestrae for the venting of oxygen produced via photosynthesis have been observed. These life-like specimens include thousands of lichen-mushroom-shaped structures with thin stems, attached to rocks, topped by bulbous caps, and oriented skyward similar to photosynthesizing organisms. If these specimens are living, fossilized or abiogenic is unknown. If biological, they may be producing and replenishing atmospheric oxygen. Abiogenic processes might also contribute to oxygenation via sublimation and seasonal melting of subglacial water-ice deposits coupled with UV splitting of water molecules; a process of abiogenic photosynthesis that could have significantly depleted oceans of water and subsurface ice over the last 4.5 billion years.

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“…Since the discovery of a relatively high concentration of perchlorate on the surface of Mars (Hecht et al, 2009), even possibly present in deep (1.5 km depth) brines (Orosei et al, 2018;Lauro et al, 2020), PRB have gained special relevance as potential inhabitants of the perchlorate-rich Martian near shallow or deep subsurface. Perchlorate (ClO 4 − ) could have been used as electron acceptor for hypothetical martian PRB, while other microbial species just acquired the detoxifying capabilities of enzymes such as the Cld to protect themselves from the poisonous effects of other species of chlorine (ClO 3 − , ClO 2 − ) (Rikken et al, 1996;Mlynek et al, 2011;Hofbauer et al, 2014).…”

Section: Perchlorate-reducing Bacteria and Implication For Life Detecmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multiplex Immunosensor for Detecting Perchlorate-Reducing Bacteria for Environmental Monitoring and Planetary Exploration

et al. 2020

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Perchlorate anions are produced by chemical industries and are important contaminants in certain natural ecosystems. Perchlorate also occurs in some natural and uncontaminated environments such as the Atacama Desert, the high Arctic or the Antarctic Dry Valleys, and is especially abundant on the surface of Mars. As some bacterial strains are capable of using perchlorate as an electron acceptor under anaerobic conditions, their detection is relevant for environmental monitoring on Earth as well as for the search for life on Mars. We have developed an antibody microarray with 20 polyclonal antibodies to detect perchlorate-reducing bacteria (PRB) strains and two crucial and highly conserved enzymes involved in perchlorate respiration: perchlorate reductase and chlorite dismutase. We determined the cross-reactivity, the working concentration, and the limit of detection of each antibody individually and in a multiplex format by Fluorescent Sandwich Microarray Immunoassay. Although most of them exhibited relatively high sensitivity and specificity, we applied a deconvolution method based on graph theory to discriminate between specific signals and cross-reactions from related microorganisms. We validated the system by analyzing multiple bacterial isolates, crude extracts from contaminated reactors and salt-rich natural samples from the high Arctic. The PRB detecting chip (PRBCHIP) allowed us to detect and classify environmental isolates as well as to detect similar strains by using crude extracts obtained from 0.5 g even from soils with low organic-matter levels (<103 cells/g of soil). Our results demonstrated that PRBCHIP is a valuable tool for sensitive and reliable detection of perchlorate-reducing bacteria for research purposes, environmental monitoring and planetary exploration.

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Multiple subglacial water bodies below the south pole of Mars unveiled by new MARSIS data

Abstract: The detection of liquid water by the Mars Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS), at the base of the South Polar Layered Deposits (SPLD) in Ultimi Scopuli, has

Cited by 162 publications

References 63 publications

Martian Mantle Heat Flow Estimate From the Lack of Lithospheric Flexure in the South Pole of Mars: Implications for Planetary Evolution and Basal Melting

Martian Mantle Heat Flow Estimate From the Lack of Lithospheric Flexure in the South Pole of Mars: Implications for Planetary Evolution and Basal Melting

Mars: Life, Subglacial Oceans, Abiogenic Photosynthesis, Seasonal Increases and Replenishment of Atmospheric Oxygen

A Multiplex Immunosensor for Detecting Perchlorate-Reducing Bacteria for Environmental Monitoring and Planetary Exploration

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