Dissemin is shutting down on January 1st, 2025

Published in

Elsevier, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 1-2(292), p. 132-138

DOI: 10.1016/j.epsl.2010.01.028

Links

Tools

Export citation

Search in Google Scholar

Hydrous magmatism on Mars: A source of water for the surface and subsurface during the Amazonian

This paper is available in a repository.
This paper is available in a repository.

Full text: Download

Green circle
Preprint: archiving allowed
Red circle
Postprint: archiving forbidden
Red circle
Published version: archiving forbidden
Data provided by SHERPA/RoMEO

Abstract

There is an overwhelming amount of evidence supporting the past existence of abundant flowing water on the martian surface, however the source for this water is less understood. Estimates of water in the deep martian interior from SNC meteorites yield low values (1–36 ppm H 2 O) that are incompatible with magmatic degassing as the primary source for this water. We have analyzed hydrous amphibole in the Chassigny martian meteorite, finding much higher water contents than previously reported. These values are consistent with a much wetter martian mantle (minimum range of 140–250 ppm H 2 O for the Chassigny source region), allowing for significant contributions of water to the martian surface by magmatic degassing. Furthermore, these results indicate the possibility of young (early–mid Amazonian), water-rich hydrothermal activity at the surface and subsurface, which could have been responsible for intermittent replenishment of water to these regions even after the onset of the cold dry climate that exists today.