Primordial argon isotope fractionation in the atmosphere of Mars measured by the SAM instrument on Curiosity and implications for atmospheric loss
[1] The quadrupole mass spectrometer of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on Curiosity rover has made the first high-precision measurement of the nonradiogenic argon isotope ratio in the atmosphere of Mars. The resulting value of 36Ar/38Ar = 4.2 ± 0.1 is highly significant for it provides...
| Veröffentlicht in: | Geophysical research letters. - 1984. - 40(2013), 21 vom: 16. Nov., Seite 5605-5609 |
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| Weitere Verfasser: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
| Format: | Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2013
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | Geophysical research letters |
| Schlagworte: | Journal Article Mars argon isotopes atmospheric loss habitability planetary atmospheres solar system |
| Zusammenfassung: | [1] The quadrupole mass spectrometer of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on Curiosity rover has made the first high-precision measurement of the nonradiogenic argon isotope ratio in the atmosphere of Mars. The resulting value of 36Ar/38Ar = 4.2 ± 0.1 is highly significant for it provides excellent evidence that "Mars" meteorites are indeed of Martian origin, and it points to a significant loss of argon of at least 50% and perhaps as high as 85-95% from the atmosphere of Mars in the past 4 billion years. Taken together with the isotopic fractionations in N, C, H, and O measured by SAM, these results imply a substantial loss of atmosphere from Mars in the posthydrodynamic escape phase |
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| Beschreibung: | Date Revised 13.05.2024 published: Print-Electronic Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 0094-8276 |