Ancient acidic waters on Mars
Nature Geoscience
2010년4월5일

The acidic surface waters that once bathed Meridiani Planum on Mars could have been generated by interactions between groundwater and the early martian atmosphere, according to a paper published online this week in Nature Geoscience. Meridiani Planum, visited by the NASA rover Opportunity, is host to a number of rock formations thought to be formed in acidic water.
Joel Hurowitz and colleagues used data obtained by Opportunity to assess the geochemical pathways that could have led to the formation of the rocks. Their geochemical calculations showed that as iron-rich, fairly neutral groundwater reached the surface, the iron could have been rapidly oxidized by exposure to ultraviolet radiation or atmospheric oxygen. The resulting chemical reactions would have acidified the water remaining on the surface.
The team suggests that the prevalence of the acidic surface water was a consequence of the martian climate drying.
doi: 10.1038/ngeo831
리서치 하이라이트
-
3월4일
Environment: Reservoirs account for more than half of water storage variabilityNature
-
3월2일
Evolution: Neanderthals may have heard just like usNature Ecology & Evolution
-
3월2일
Geoscience: Earth’s atmosphere may return to low-levels of oxygen in one billion yearsNature Geoscience
-
2월26일
Environment: Shifting from small to medium plastic bottles could reduce PET wasteScientific Reports
-
2월24일
Environment: European forests more vulnerable to multiple threats as climate warmsNature Communications
-
2월11일
Environment: Global CFC-11 emissions in declineNature