"why are we most likely to learn about the early history of the early by studying the rocs from the moon rather than those on the Earth ?"
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Ice Ages on Mars
Project Investigators: Norbert Schorghofer
Summary
The subsurface ice reservoirs of Mars are being further characterized and incorporated into climate models.
Astrobiology Roadmap Objectives:
Project Progress
In recent years in has become apparent that ice ages occurred on Mars. One dynamic ice reservoirs lies beneath Mars’ dry surface, buried by a thin layer of dry soil. This subsurface ice was mapped out by the Gamma Ray Spectrometer Suite and is now being explored by the Phoenix Lander. In a continuing research project, these ice layers, stretching from about 60 degree latitude to the Polar Layered Deposits, are being investigated further.
A numerical model of subsurface vapor transport has been further developed that will ultimately lead to a new generation of Global Mars Climate Models. An overall discussion of this issue can be found in N. Schorghofer, The role of subsurface-atmosphere exchange in climate history and climate models of Mars, Abstract for the Mars Water Cycle Workshop, Paris (2008).
As our understanding of the distribution of ice on Mars progresses, we can take a new look at how this ice moves around in response to Milankovitch forcing. The extent of subsurface ice is controlled by surface temperature and atmospheric humidity. Work in progress shows that the surface temperature at the margins of the ice layers is mainly controlled by the precession cycle, which is otherwise much weaker than the obliquity cycle.
In collaboration with B. Diez and others, the first detailed comparison between measured and predicted H2O burial depth was carried out, see the paper by B. Diez et al., H layering in the top meter of Mars, Icarus 196, 409-421 (2008).
Mission Involvement
Mars Odysseyanalysis and interpretation of data from the Gamma Ray Spectrometer Suite
Publications
Diez, B., Feldman, W.C., Maurice, S., Gasnault, O., Prettyman, T.H., Mellon, M.T., Aharonson, O. & Schorghofer., N. (2008). H layering in the top meter of Mars. Icarus, 196:409-421.
Schorghofer, N. (2007). Dynamics of ice ages on Mars. Nature, 449:192-194.
Schorghofer, N. (2008). Temperature response of Mars to Milankovitch cycles. Geophysical Research Letters, under review.
Schorghofer, N. (2008). The role of subsurface-atmosphere exchange in climate history and climate models of Mars. Proceedings of the Mars Water Cycle Workshop, Paris.
- HANDBOOK OF STAR FORMING REGIONS
- A Rare low mass quadruple spectroscopic AND eclipsing binary
- A search for Main Belt Comets in Pan-STARRS 1
- A search for primordial water from deep in the Earth's mantle
- A spectroscopically unique Main Belt asteroid: 10537 (1991 RY16)
- A Supertree Analysis of the Metazoan Phylogeny
- Acquisition and Installation of a new Cameca ims 1280 ion microprobe
- Acquisition and Installation of Witec Confocal Raman microscope scanning system
- Amorphization of Crystalline Water Ice in the Solar System
- Assessing the likelihood of supernova impact of protoplanetary disks
- Carbonate Lithologies on Devon Island, Canada
- Chemistry and biology of ultramafic-hosted alkaline springs
- Chemistry of the NH3/H2O system
- DIVERSITY AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE UNIQUE TROPICAL PHYLUM PLACOZOA
- Dynamical Evolution of Astroid Belt and the Parent Bodies of Iron Meteorites
- Ecology of a Hawaiian lava cave microbial mat
- FMARS Long Duration Mission: a simulation of manned Mars exploration in an analogue environment, Devon Island, Canada
- Formation and Detection of Hot-Earth Objects in Systems with Close-in Jupiters
- Formation and the Prospects of the Detection of Habitable Planets in Extreme Planetary Systems
- Formation of Molecular Hydrogen via Interaction of Ionizing Radiation with Hydrocarbon Ices in the Interstellar Medium
- Formation of Planetesimals in a Dynamically Evolving Nebula
- FU ORIONIS ERUPTIONS
- Ice Ages on Mars
- Ice at the Mars Phoenix Landing Site
- Ice on Main Belt Comets
- Icelandic subglacial lakes
- Mechanisms of Marine Microbial Community Structuring
- Mechanistical Studies on the Non-Equilibrium Chemistry of Unusual Carbon Oxide in Solar System Ices
- Modeling grain surface reaction pathways for large organic molecules
- Molecular Deuteration on grain surfaces
- NEWBORN BINARIES
- Observations and Models of comet 17P/Holmes
- Origin and Activation Mechanism of Main Belt Comets
- Origin of Irregular Satellites
- Recovery of comet 85P/Boethin for the Deep Impact Extended Mission
- Sediment-buried basement deep biosphere
- Serpentinazation and abiogenic methane in the Mariana Forearc
- Sleeping through the Arctic Martian Sol
- Spectropolarimetric studies of stars with hot jupiters
- TES study of intracrater low albedo deposits, Amazonis Planitia, Mars
- The delivery of short-lived radionucleides to the solar system
- The effect of lunar-like satellites on the orbital infrared lightcurves of Earth-analog planets
- The Main Belt distribution of basaltic asteroids
- The Size Distribution of Small KBOs
- THE VYSOS PROJECT
- Ultra-violet processing of ices in the Rosette Nebula
- Unveiling the evolution and interplay of ice and gas in quiescent clouds
- Variable Young Stellar Objects Survey (VYSOS)
- Water on Mars
- X-ray- and UV-bright low-mass stars in the solar neighborhood