A new study shows Mars’ early thick atmosphere could be locked up in the planet’s clay surface.
A new study shows Mars’ early thick atmosphere could be locked up in the planet’s clay surface.
Mars wasn’t always the cold desert we see today. There’s increasing evidence that water once flowed on the Red Planet’s surface, billions of years ago. And if there was water, there must also have been a thick atmosphere to keep that water from freezing. But sometime around 3.5 billion years ago, the water dried up, and the air, once heavy with carbon dioxide, dramatically thinned, leaving only the wisp of an atmosphere that clings to the planet today.
Where exactly did Mars’ atmosphere go? This question has been a central mystery of Mars’ 4.6-billion-year history.
For two MIT geologists, the answer may lie in the planet’s clay. In a paper appearing today in Science Advances, they propose that much of Mars’ missing atmosphere could be locked up in the planet’s clay-covered crust.
Read more at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Photo Credit: WikiImages via Pixabay
