Billions of years ago Mars had plentiful water. Where is it NOW?
Channel: TWO & Solutions
Date: 2021-03-18

For a few decades, many planetary scientists and researchers have speculated a body of water on Mars' surface. Here is a new science journal article to support new hypothesis as following:

Here is a stitched image captured from NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover in April 2020 - the foreground is the pediments’ sandstone cap, at centre is clay-bearing outcrop, and the floor of Gale Crater in the distance in this image. 

I am not gonna lie, these observed outcrops on Mars are composed of sedimentary layers that built up geological time.  This is one of evidence that water existed three billion years ago, when Mars was more Earth-like with lakes rivers oceans and a thicker atmosphere.

The research group at California Institute of Technology published their hypothesis and research results in the peer reviewed journal, Science in the week of 15 March 2021.

The researchers used a model that simulated that hydrogen isotope composition and water volume of Mars with three scenarios mentioned in the journal paper. Ordinary hydrogen can escape through the atmosphere into space compared to deuterium having a proton and a neutron. So it would leave a huge amount of deuterium versus normal hydrogen.

Research teams have studied the quantity of all water forms on Mars including vapor liquid and ice, as well as the chemical composition of the red planet. The scientists offer a lot of water was trapped in minerals including clays and sulfates. As usual, clay minerals have hydroxide OH-, and sulfates for SO4 (-2).

Earth has tectonic plates through divergent and convergent plate margin and boundary. Old plate continues to melt into the mantle while the young crust creates each boundary. It contributes water molecules back to the atmosphere, and is helpful to sustained participation of water in the hydrologic cycle on Earth. However, Mars has no tectonic activity and volcanism, so water molecules are captured under the surface permanently. 

Here are schematic illustration of water sink and source fluxes in simulations by Caltech research group. It briefly explains components of the model with values including exchangeable reservoirs - all types of water molecules - gas, water, and ice, as well as crustal water. They had computer simulated three scenarios such as volcanic degassing (water input from volcanism), atmospheric escape (water loss to space), and crustal hydration (water loss to the crust) on Mars along with limited support from rovers, satellite observations, and meteorites. 

Author explained that the Noachian period is dominated by crustal hydration and volcanic degassing to reduce a huge amount of water in hydrological cycles by their simulations. The best scenario is crustal hydration sequestration which Martian rocks, complex of minerals, contain between 30 and 99 percent of water in relation to the increase of the dryness of terrestrial plants. 

#WaterinMars #Marsrover #marsimage #marswater #marswaterice

➤ references and links
-  260 free vector icons of International flags designed by Freepik https://www.flaticon.com/packs/international-flags-3?k=1615208613470 via @flaticon

- https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/curiosity20200706
- https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-exploration-mars-water-idUSKBN2B92EJ
- http://parabolicarc.com/2021/03/17/new-study-challenges-long-held-theory-of-fate-of-mars-water/#more-78173
- https://science.sciencemag.org/content/early/2021/03/15/science.abc7717

By European Southern Observatory (ESO) / M. Kornmesser,  C.C.4.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

By Henrik Hargitai, C.C.4.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

By NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS, for public domain, https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/pia23974-16.jpg

By Dirk Hünniger, 2016, C.C. 3.0. 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

By Steine18, C.C. 3.0.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cross_Section_of_Kaolinite_and_Pyophyllite.png

By Materialscientist, C.C. 3.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anhydrite.png

By domdomegg, C.C.4.0.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Continental-continental_constructive_plate_boundary.svg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Continental-continental_destructive_plate_boundary.svg

By Brian W. Schaller, C.C.4.0.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A204,_Hawaii_Volcanoes_National_Park,_USA,_new_lava_flow,_2007.JPG

By ESA & MPS for OSIRIS Team MPS/UPD/LAM/IAA/RSSD/INTA/UPM/DASP/IDA, CC BY-SA IGO 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:OSIRIS_Mars_true_color.jpg

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