What Happened to Early Mars' Atmosphere?

[Waspie_Dwarf]

What Happened to Early Mars' Atmosphere? New Study Eliminates One Theory

Scientists may be closer to solving the mystery of how Mars changed from a world with surface water billions of years ago to the arid Red Planet of today.

A new analysis of the largest known deposit of carbonate minerals on Mars suggests that the original Martian atmosphere may have already lost most of its carbon dioxide by the era of valley network formation.

"The biggest carbonate deposit on Mars has, at most, twice as much carbon in it as the current Mars atmosphere," said Bethany Ehlmann of the California Institute of Technology and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, both in Pasadena. "Even if you combined all known carbon reservoirs together, it is still nowhere near enough to sequester the thick atmosphere that has been proposed for the time when there were rivers flowing on the Martian surface."

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[Anomalocaris]

So, the early Mars was cold and wet? Well that changes things a bit. Especially the old idea of a more Earth-like planet. And yet, it is still an interesting detail. Besides, the cold scenario appears to offer better data to explain the characteristics of the hydraulic action that currently mark the Martian surface.

Edited September 3, 2015 by Anomalocaris