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1.
Curtin University??s Mars Gravity Model 2011 (MGM2011) is a high-resolution composite set of gravity field functionals that uses topography-implied gravity effects at medium- and short-scales (??125 km to ??3 km) to augment the space-collected MRO110B2 gravity model. Ground-truth gravity observations that could be used for direct validation of MGM2011 are not available on Mars??s surface. To indirectly evaluate MGM2011 and its modelling principles, an as-close-as-possible replication of the MGM2011 modelling approach was performed on Earth as the planetary body with most detailed gravity field knowledge available. Comparisons among six ground-truth data sets (gravity disturbances, quasigeoid undulations and vertical deflections) and the MGM2011-replication over Europe and North America show unanimously that topography-implied gravity information improves upon space-collected gravity models over areas with rugged terrain. The improvements are ??55% and ??67% for gravity disturbances, ??12% and ??47% for quasigeoid undulations, and ??30% to ??50% for vertical deflections. Given that the correlation between space-collected gravity and topography is higher for Mars than Earth at spatial scales of a few 100 km, topography-implied gravity effects are more dominant on Mars. It is therefore reasonable to infer that the MGM2011 modelling approach is suitable, offering an improvement over space-collected Martian gravity field models.  相似文献   

2.
Summary The gravitational potential energies of Mercury, Venus and Mars have been computed on the basis of density models and compared to that of the Earth. It has been stated that the specific potential energy per unit mass is very close as regards the pair Earth and Venus, as well as the pair Mercury and Mars.Dedicated to the Memory of K. P  相似文献   

3.
Deltas on planet Mars record past climate, but so far a wide range of hypotheses for their formation have been proposed. The objective of this paper is to understand martian fan deltas, their formative conditions, evolution and formative duration, and implications for the past climate. As an introduction to Mars, physiographic provinces are described and unambiguous proof is listed for the presence of flowing water in the past, such as certain minerals, groundwater, catastrophic outflow channels, alluvial fans and fan deltas, distributary networks and glaciers. The climate history of Mars differs from that of Earth by having had much drier conditions than on Earth, extreme intermittency and extreme events, most of them billions of years ago. Tens of fan deltas, unchannelized fan deltas and stepped fans have been found in impact crater and other lakes. The stepped fans were likely formed by backstepping under fast rising lake levels and have no known terrestrial equivalent. The fan deltas were formed once the lake overflowed. Alluvial fans are much more numerous and formed with less water. The delta studies illustrate how major challenges of martian morphology and reconstruction of past conditions can be taken up most effectively by combinations of the available high‐resolution images and digital elevation models, terrestrial analogues, laboratory experiments and physics‐based models gleaned from geomorphology. To resolve formative mechanisms and time scale of martian fans and deltas, morphological distinctions between dense debris flows and dilute fluvial flows must be identified for both source and sink areas. Furthermore, the properties of the martian surface material are very poorly constrained but can be explored by modelling various mass wasting, fluvial and glacial phenomena and hydrology, and by experimentation with slightly cohesive sediment. Finally, the highly debated role of groundwater sapping in valley and delta formation on Mars should be explored experimentally. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

4.
Recent observations and missions to Mars have provided us with new insight into the past habitability of Mars and its history. At the same time they have raised many questions on the planet evolution. We show that even with the few data available we can propose a scenario for the evolution of the Martian atmosphere in the last three billion years. Our model is obtained with a back integration of the Martian atmosphere, and takes into account the effects of volcanic degassing, which constitutes an input of volatiles, and atmospheric escape into space. We focus on CO2, the predominant Martian atmospheric gas.Volcanic CO2 degassing rates are obtained for different models of numerical model crust production rates [Breuer, D., Spohn, T. 2003. Early plate tectonics versus single-plate tectonics on Mars: Evidence from magnetic field history and crust evolution. J. Geophys. Res. - Planets, 108, E7, 5072, Breuer, D., Spohn, T., 2006. Viscosity of the Martian mantle and its initial temperature: Constraints from crust formation history and the evolution of the magnetic field. Planet. Space Sci. 54 (2006) 153–169; Manga, M., Wenzel, M., Zaranek, S.E., 2006. Mantle Plumes and Long-lived Volcanism on Mars as Result of a Layered Mantle. American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting 2006, Abstract #P31C-0149.] and constrained on observation. By estimating the volatile contents of the lavas, the amount of volatiles released in the atmosphere is estimated for different scenarios. Both non-thermal processes (related to the solar activity) and thermal processes are studied and non-thermal processes are incorporated in our modelling of the escape [Chassefière, E., Leblanc, F., Langlais, B., 2006, The combined effects of escape and magnetic field history at Mars. Planet. Space Sci. Volume 55, Issue 3, Pages 343–357.]. We used measurements from ASPERA and Mars Express and these models to estimate the amount of lost atmosphere.An evolution of the CO2 pressure consistent with its present state is then obtained. A crustal production rate of at least 0.01 km3/year is needed for the atmosphere to be at steady state. Moreover, we show that for most of the scenarios a rapid loss of the primary (and primordial) atmosphere due to atmospheric escape is required in the first 2 Gyr in order to obtain the present-day atmosphere. When CO2 concentration in the mantle is high enough (i.e. more than 800 ppm), our results imply that present-day atmosphere would have a volcanic origin and would have been created between 1 Gyr and 2 Gyr ago even for models with low volcanic activity. If the volcanic activity and the degassing are intense enough, then the atmosphere can even be entirely secondary and as young as 1 Gyr. However, with low activity and low CO2 concentration (less than 600 ppm), the present-day atmosphere is likely to be for the major part primordial.  相似文献   

5.
Understanding spin orbital parameter-driven climate change on Mars prior to ∼ 20 Ma ago requires geological evidence because numerical solutions for that period are chaotic and non-unique. We show geological evidence that lineated valley fill at low mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere of Mars (∼ 37.5° N) originated through regional snow and ice accumulation and underwent glacial-like flow. Breached upland craters and theater-headed valleys reveal features typical of erosion in association with terrestrial glaciers. Parallel, converging and chevron-like lineations in potentially ice-rich deposits on valley floors indicate that flow occurred through constrictions and converged from different directions at different velocities. Together, these Martian deposits and erosional landforms resemble those of intermontaine glacial systems on Earth, particularly in their major morphology, topographic shape, planform and detailed surface features. An inferred Late Amazonian age, combined with predictions of climate models, suggest that the obliquity of Mars exceeded a mean of 45° for a sustained period. During this time, significant transfer of ice occurred from ice-rich regions (e.g., the poles) to mid-latitudes, causing prolonged snow and ice accumulation there and forming an extensive system of valley glaciers.  相似文献   

6.
Alex Ellery and David Wynn-Williams propose a new UK astrobiology project, in which a micro-rover would deploy ground-penetrating moles to burrow into the Martian subsurface.
One of the linchpins of the UK's contribution to the burgeoning field of astrobiology is the Beagle 2 mission, due to fly to Mars in 2003 on the Mars Express bus. Given that NASA has declared its intention to focus on "whole planet" geological investigation in its future Mars missions, beginning with the Mars Exploration Rovers which are due to fly in 2003/2004, the UK is well placed to consider post-Beagle 2 astrobiology-focused Mars missions to ensure its leadership in the future in astrobiology. In this paper we present such a proposal – Vanguard.  相似文献   

7.
重点介绍和分析了国际上对火星磁层探测所取得的资料,并与地球和太阳系其他一些行星磁层进行了对比,简单介绍了火星磁层的理论研究概况,指出了目前火星磁层研究中的主要问题。  相似文献   

8.
Sedimentary rocks exposed in the Meridiani Planum region of Mars record aqueous and eolian deposition in ancient dune and interdune playa-like environments that were arid, acidic, and oxidizing. On Earth, microbial populations have repeatedly adapted to low pH and both episodic and chronic water limitation, suggesting that, to a first approximation, the Meridiani plain may have been habitable during at least part of the interval when deposition and early diagenesis took place. On the other hand, the environmental conditions inferred for Meridiani deposition would have posed a challenge for prebiotic chemical reactions thought to have played a role in the origin of life on Earth. Orbital observations suggest that the combination of sulfate minerals and hematite found in Meridiani rocks may be unusual on the martian surface; however, there is reason to believe that acidity, aridity, and oxidizing conditions were broadly distributed on ancient Mars. When these conditions were established and how much environmental heterogeneity existed on early Mars remain to be determined. Because sulfates and iron oxides can preserve detailed geochemical records of environmental history as well as chemical, textural and microfossil signatures of biological activity, Meridiani Planum is an attractive candidate for Mars sample return.  相似文献   

9.
In this work we analyze a dark erg on Mars that could be considered a mega‐dune (draa) where secondary dunes of different morphology are superposed over a main crescent‐shaped bedform (primary dune). The presence of a complex, multi‐directional wind regime is indicated as one of the main causes for the accumulation of a tall draa, presenting an analogy to the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. In both cases, main regional winds from the SW blow in opposition to winds from the NE which are enhanced by the topography. Such a complex wind regime leads to the development of star and reversing dunes and is accurately predicted by atmospheric models on a regional and local scale. Signs of activity in the form of grainflow scars are also noted over the slip faces of many dunes, suggesting that easterly winds are actively shaping the study draa in the present‐day climatic setting. The presence of this draa on Mars suggests a complex interaction between regional and local topographically controlled flows and a consistent availability of sand. The future study of an analogue terrestrial site such as the Great Sand Dunes could be fundamental for understanding the evolution of similar Martian dune fields. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

10.
《Astronomy& Geophysics》2007,48(5):5.07-5.05
All is going to plan for the Phoenix Mars Mission, the first of NASA's Scout Missions, on its cruise to Mars.  相似文献   

11.
Physical sedimentology experiments have shown that sulfuric acid solutions may have formed some surface features seen on Mars. Recent data returned from Mars show the presence of jarosite, sulfate salts, hematite, phyllosilicates, and opaline silica, all of which precipitate from some terrestrial sulfuric acid solutions. There is a plethora of geochemical, mineralogical, and sedimentological data indicative of past sulfuric acid systems on Mars, but there has never been a comprehensive study published regarding sulfuric acid as a physical sedimentological agent. In the laboratory, we ran liquids of various compositions over sediments in order to test how these liquids entrain, transport, and deposit sediments. Pure water and concentrated sulfuric acid solutions produced the same general features, such as channels, gullies, and alluvial fans. However, sulfuric acid solutions yielded some distinct sedimentary features not produced by pure water runs. These features, narrow, deeply incised channels of consistent widths, rounded discrete fans, and air bubble “craters”, are similar to some Martian landscape features. These experimental results indicate that acid solutions should be considered a possible sedimentological agent on Mars.  相似文献   

12.
火星和月球热历史的参量化模型研究   总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2       下载免费PDF全文
通过类地行星热历史的比较研究,可以更全面地了解它们的热演化过程.火星和月球不具有板块构造,研究它们的热演化过程时,考虑了岩石层逐渐加厚对行星内部对流的影响,同时也考虑了由对流传热转变为传导传热对它们热历史的影响.参量化模型计算结果表明:火星和月球岩石层随温度的逐渐降低目前大约分别增厚到320km和250km左右;并且,火星幔和月幔分别于1.6Ga前和3Ga前停止热对流,这与天文和空间探测资料一致.  相似文献   

13.
Motion of the entire solid planet with respect to its spin axis have been proposed on Mars. This movement is known as True Polar Wander (TPW). According to the conservation of angular momentum with no external torque, on geological time scales the axis of maximum inertia of a planet is aligned with the rotation axis. Then rearrangement of masses within the mantle disturbs the planet's inertia and induces TPW. The convection pattern on Mars is possibly controlled by a sequence of single plumes originating from the core-mantle boundary. Using a homogeneous model of the martian mantle and modelling the plume as a sphere, we calculate the inertial tensor perturbations caused by the plume mass anomaly. We investigate the stabilizing influence of the remnant rotational bulge due to the lithosphere elasticity on these perturbations. It appears that, during early martian history, the elastic lithosphere was thin enough to allow its fractures under the inertia perturbations induced by a hot plume. Consequently, the lithosphere's behaviour became effectively viscoelastic and the plume could induce large TPW. We conclude that one plume convection pattern should have greatly influenced the rotation pole behaviour during early Mars history: around 4 Gyr ago, Mars already could have experienced two TPW events lasting possibly only a few million years each. We then compare our scenario with others already published in the literature.  相似文献   

14.
Joyce Vetterlein and Gerald P Roberts describe research in progress on the structural evolution of Cerberus Fossae, Mars, with implications for cryosphere cracking in recent Mars history.  相似文献   

15.
The secondary mineral budget on Earth is dominated by clay minerals, Al-hydroxides, and Fe-oxides, which are formed under the moderate pH, high water-to-rock ratio conditions typical of Earth's near-surface environment. In contrast, geochemical analyses of rocks and soils from landed missions to Mars indicate that secondary mineralogy is dominated by Mg (± Fe, Ca)-sulfates and Fe-oxides. This discrepancy can be explained as resulting from differences in the chemical weathering environment of Earth and Mars. We suggest that chemical weathering processes on Mars are dominated by: (1) a low-pH, sulfuric acid-rich environment in which the stoichiometric dissolution of labile mineral phases such as olivine and apatite (± Fe–Ti oxides) is promoted; and (2) relatively low water-to-rock ratio, such that other silicate phases with slower dissolution rates (e.g., plagioclase, pyroxene) do not contribute substantially to the secondary mineral budget at the Martian surface. Under these conditions, Al-mobilization is limited, and the formation of significant Al-bearing secondary phases (e.g., clays, Al-hydroxides, Al-sulfates) is inhibited. The antiquity of rock samples analyzed in-situ on Mars suggest that water-limited acidic weathering conditions have more than likely been the defining characteristic of the Martian aqueous environment for billions of years.  相似文献   

16.
Atmospheric electrification is not a purely terrestrial phenomenon: all Solar System planetary atmospheres become slightly electrified by cosmic ray ionisation. There is evidence for lightning on Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and it is possible on Mars, Venus and Titan. Controversy surrounds the role of atmospheric electricity in physical climate processes on Earth; here, a comparative approach is employed to review the role of electrification in the atmospheres of other planets and their moons. This paper reviews the theory, and, where available, measurements, of planetary atmospheric electricity which is taken to include ion production and ion–aerosol interactions. The conditions necessary for a planetary atmospheric electric circuit similar to Earth’s, and the likelihood of meeting these conditions in other planetary atmospheres, are briefly discussed. Atmospheric electrification could be important throughout the solar system, particularly at the outer planets which receive little solar radiation, increasing the relative significance of electrical forces. Nucleation onto atmospheric ions has been predicted to affect the evolution and lifetime of haze layers on Titan, Neptune and Triton. Atmospheric electrical processes on Titan, before the arrival of the Huygens probe, are summarised. For planets closer to Earth, heating from solar radiation dominates atmospheric circulations. However, Mars may have a global circuit analogous to the terrestrial model, but based on electrical discharges from dust storms. There is an increasing need for direct measurements of planetary atmospheric electrification, in particular on Mars, to assess the risk for future unmanned and manned missions. Theoretical understanding could be increased by cross-disciplinary work to modify and update models and parameterisations initially developed for a specific atmosphere, to make them more broadly applicable to other planetary atmospheres.  相似文献   

17.
Randall S Perry and Mark A Sephton discuss a target material for Mars Sample Return: rocks coated with desert varnish, a mineral layer that records past surface climates on Earth, and probably on Mars too.  相似文献   

18.
In planetary sciences, the geodetic (geometric) heights defined with respect to the reference surface (the sphere or the ellipsoid) or with respect to the center of the planet/moon are typically used for mapping topographic surface, compilation of global topographic models, detailed mapping of potential landing sites, and other space science and engineering purposes. Nevertheless, certain applications, such as studies of gravity-driven mass movements, require the physical heights to be defined with respect to the equipotential surface. Taking the analogy with terrestrial height systems, the realization of height systems for telluric planets and moons could be done by means of defining the orthometric and geoidal heights. In this case, however, the definition of the orthometric heights in principle differs. Whereas the terrestrial geoid is described as an equipotential surface that best approximates the mean sea level, such a definition for planets/moons is irrelevant in the absence of (liquid) global oceans. A more natural choice for planets and moons is to adopt the geoidal equipotential surface that closely approximates the geometric reference surface (the sphere or the ellipsoid). In this study, we address these aspects by proposing a more accurate approach for defining the orthometric heights for telluric planets and moons from available topographic and gravity models, while adopting the average crustal density in the absence of reliable crustal density models. In particular, we discuss a proper treatment of topographic masses in the context of gravimetric geoid determination. In numerical studies, we investigate differences between the geodetic and orthometric heights, represented by the geoidal heights, on Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Moon. Our results reveal that these differences are significant. The geoidal heights on Mercury vary from ? 132 to 166 m. On Venus, the geoidal heights are between ? 51 and 137 m with maxima on this planet at Atla Regio and Beta Regio. The largest geoid undulations between ? 747 and 1685 m were found on Mars, with the extreme positive geoidal heights under Olympus Mons in Tharsis region. Large variations in the geoidal geometry are also confirmed on the Moon, with the geoidal heights ranging from ? 298 to 461 m. For comparison, the terrestrial geoid undulations are mostly within ± 100 m. We also demonstrate that a commonly used method for computing the geoidal heights that disregards the differences between the gravity field outside and inside topographic masses yields relatively large errors. According to our estimates, these errors are ? 0.3/+ 3.4 m for Mercury, 0.0/+ 13.3 m for Venus, ? 1.4/+ 125.6 m for Mars, and ? 5.6/+ 45.2 m for the Moon.  相似文献   

19.
Both “hot-spot” type and possibly island-arc volcanoes may form at the intersections of fractures whose spacing is near the thickness of the lithosphere and increases with increasing thickness. An approximate equality between layer thickness and spacing of major fractures observed in some sedimentary rocks and clay cake models may thus extend to the “mega-joints” that have fractured the lithosphere and controlled volcano spacing on the earth, and possibly on Mars. If the hot-spot fractures are interpreted as due to shear, many hot-spot fracture systems suggest roughly north-south least principal stress, or, alternatively in some instances, a 90° rotation of this pattern.  相似文献   

20.
The general features of the region of interaction of the solar wind with the ionosphere of Venus and Mars are compared using data obtained with the Mariner 5 and the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) spacecraft for Venus and with the Phobos II, the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) and the Mars Express spacecraft for Mars. Despite the overall weak intrinsic global magnetic field that is present in both planets there are significant differences in the manner in which the interplanetary magnetic field accumulates and is organized around and within their ionosphere. Such differences are unrelated to the crustal magnetic field remnants inferred from the MGS measurements around Mars. In fact, while in Venus and Mars there is a region in which the magnetic field becomes enhanced as it piles up in their plasma environment it is shown that such a region exhibits different regimes with respect to changes in the ion composition measured outside and within the ionosphere. At Venus the region of enhanced magnetic field intensity occurs in general above the ionopause which represents the boundary across which there is a change in the ion composition with dominant solar wind protons above and planetary O+ ions below. At Mars the region of enhanced magnetic field is located below a magnetic pileup boundary across which there is also a comparable change in the ion composition (solar wind protons above and planetary O+ ions below). It is argued that this difference in the relative position of the region of enhanced magnetic field with respect to that of a plasma boundary that separates different ion populations results from the peculiar response of the ionosphere of each planet to the oncoming solar wind dynamic pressure. While at Venus the peak ionospheric thermal pressure is in general sufficient to withhold the incident solar wind kinetic pressure there is a different response in Mars where the peak ionospheric thermal pressure is in general not large enough to deviate the solar wind. In this latter case the ionosphere is unable to force the solar wind to move around the ionosphere and as a result the oncoming electron population can reach low altitudes where it is influenced by neutral atmospheric particles (the solar wind proton population is replaced at the magnetic pileup boundary which marks the upper extent of the region where the interplanetary magnetic field becomes enhanced). Peculiar conditions are expected near the magnetic polar regions and over the terminator plane where the solar wind is directed along the sides of the planet.  相似文献   

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