Arid
DOI10.1038/ngeo2137
Low palaeopressure of the martian atmosphere estimated from the size distribution of ancient craters
Kite, Edwin S.1; Williams, Jean-Pierre2; Lucas, Antoine1; Aharonson, Oded1,3
通讯作者Kite, Edwin S.
来源期刊NATURE GEOSCIENCE
ISSN1752-0894
EISSN1752-0908
出版年2014
卷号7期号:5页码:335-339
英文摘要

The decay of the martian atmosphere-which is dominated by carbon dioxide-is a component of the long-term environmental change on Mars(1) from a climate that once allowed rivers to flow(2-6) to the cold and dry conditions of today. The minimum size of craters serves as a proxy for palaeopressure of planetary atmospheres, because thinner atmospheres permit smaller objects to reach the surface at high velocities and form craters(7-9). The Aeolis Dorsa region near Gale crater on Mars contains a high density of preserved ancient craters interbedded with river deposits(11) and thus can provide constraints on atmospheric density at the time of fluvial activity. Here we use high-resolution images and digital terrain models(10) from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to identify ancient craters in deposits in Aeolis Dorsa that date to about 3.6 Gyr ago and compare their size distribution with models of atmospheric filtering of impactors(12,13). We obtain an upper limit of 0.9 +/- 0.1 bar for the martian atmospheric palaeopressure, rising to 1.9 +/- 0.2 bar if rimmed circular mesas-interpreted to be erosionally-resistant fills or floors of impact craters-are excluded. We assume target properties appropriate for desert alluvium(14): if sediment had rock-mass strength similar to bedrock at the time of impact, the paleopressure upper limit increases by a factor of up to two. If Mars did not have a stable multibar atmosphere at the time that the rivers were flowing-as suggested by our results-then a warm and wet CO2/H2O greenhouse(2) is ruled out, and long-term average temperatures were most likely below freezing.


类型Article
语种英语
国家USA ; Israel
收录类别SCI-E
WOS记录号WOS:000335948600009
WOS关键词MARS ; CLIMATE
WOS类目Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
WOS研究方向Geology
来源机构University of California, Los Angeles
资源类型期刊论文
条目标识符http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/183972
作者单位1.CALTECH, Pasadena, CA 91125 USA;
2.Univ Calif Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90025 USA;
3.Weizmann Inst Sci, Helen Kimmel Ctr Planetary Sci, IL-76100 Rehovot, Israel
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Kite, Edwin S.,Williams, Jean-Pierre,Lucas, Antoine,et al. Low palaeopressure of the martian atmosphere estimated from the size distribution of ancient craters[J]. University of California, Los Angeles,2014,7(5):335-339.
APA Kite, Edwin S.,Williams, Jean-Pierre,Lucas, Antoine,&Aharonson, Oded.(2014).Low palaeopressure of the martian atmosphere estimated from the size distribution of ancient craters.NATURE GEOSCIENCE,7(5),335-339.
MLA Kite, Edwin S.,et al."Low palaeopressure of the martian atmosphere estimated from the size distribution of ancient craters".NATURE GEOSCIENCE 7.5(2014):335-339.
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