Publication Date:
2014-12-18
Description:
The deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) ratio in strongly bound water or hydroxyl groups in ancient martian clays retains the imprint of the water of formation of these minerals. Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment measured thermally evolved water and hydrogen gas released between 550 degrees and 950 degrees C from samples of Hesperian-era Gale crater smectite to determine this isotope ratio. The D/H value is 3.0 (+/-0.2) times the ratio in standard mean ocean water. The D/H ratio in this ~3-billion-year-old mudstone, which is half that of the present martian atmosphere but substantially higher than that expected in very early Mars, indicates an extended history of hydrogen escape and desiccation of the planet.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Mahaffy, P R -- Webster, C R -- Stern, J C -- Brunner, A E -- Atreya, S K -- Conrad, P G -- Domagal-Goldman, S -- Eigenbrode, J L -- Flesch, G J -- Christensen, L E -- Franz, H B -- Freissinet, C -- Glavin, D P -- Grotzinger, J P -- Jones, J H -- Leshin, L A -- Malespin, C -- McAdam, A C -- Ming, D W -- Navarro-Gonzalez, R -- Niles, P B -- Owen, T -- Pavlov, A A -- Steele, A -- Trainer, M G -- Williford, K H -- Wray, J J -- MSL Science Team -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2015 Jan 23;347(6220):412-4. doi: 10.1126/science.1260291. Epub 2014 Dec 16.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Planetary Environments Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. paul.r.mahaffy@nasa.gov. ; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA. ; Planetary Environments Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. ; Planetary Environments Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA. Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA. ; Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2143, USA. ; Planetary Environments Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. Center for Research and Exploration in Space Science and Technology, University of Maryland College Park, College Park, MD 20742, USA. ; Planetary Environments Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. NASA Postdoctoral Program, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN 37831, USA. ; Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. ; NASA Johnson Space Flight Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA. ; Office of the President, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA. ; Planetary Environments Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research (GESTAR)/Universities Space Research Association (USRA) NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA. ; Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico D.F. 04510, Mexico. ; Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. ; Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC 20015, USA. ; School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25515119" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
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Chemistry and Pharmacology
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Computer Science
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Medicine
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Natural Sciences in General
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Physics
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