Phyllosilicates on Mars and implications for early martian climate

The recent identification of large deposits of sulphates by remote sensing and in situ observations has been considered evidence of the past presence of liquid water on Mars. Here we report the unambiguous detection of diverse phyllosilicates, a family of aqueous alteration products, on the basis of observations by the OMEGA imaging spectrometer on board the Mars Express spacecraft. These minerals are mainly associated with Noachian outcrops, which is consistent with an early active hydrological system, sustaining the long-term contact of igneous minerals with liquid water. We infer that the two main families of hydrated alteration products detected-phyllosilicates and sulphates--result from different formation processes. These occurred during two distinct climatic episodes: an early Noachian Mars, resulting in the formation of hydrated silicates, followed by a more acidic environment, in which sulphates formed.     

Global warming and climate forcing by recent albedo changes on Mars

For hundreds of years, scientists have tracked the changing appearance of Mars, first by hand drawings and later by photographs. Because of this historical record, many classical albedo patterns have long been known to shift in appearance over time. Decadal variations of the martian surface albedo are generally attributed to removal and deposition of small amounts of relatively bright dust on the surface. Large swaths of the surface (up to 56 million km2) have been observed to darken or brighten by 10 per cent or more. It is unknown, however, how these albedo changes affect wind circulation, dust transport and the feedback between these processes and the martian climate. Here we present predictions from a Mars general circulation model, indicating that the observed interannual albedo alterations strongly influence the martian environment. Results indicate enhanced wind stress in recently darkened areas and decreased wind stress in brightened areas, producing a positive feedback system in which the albedo changes strengthen the winds that generate the changes. The simulations also predict a net annual global warming of surface air temperatures by approximately 0.65 K, enhancing dust lifting by increasing the likelihood of dust devil generation. The increase in global dust lifting by both wind stress and dust devils may affect the mechanisms that trigger large dust storm initiation, a poorly understood phenomenon, unique to Mars. In addition, predicted increases in summertime air temperatures at high southern latitudes would contribute to the rapid and steady scarp retreat that has been observed in the south polar residual ice for the past four Mars years. Our results suggest that documented albedo changes affect recent climate change and large-scale weather patterns on Mars, and thus albedo variations are a necessary component of future atmospheric and climate studies.     

Recent and episodic volcanic and glacial activity on Mars revealed by the High Resolution Stereo Camera

The large-area coverage at a resolution of 10-20 metres per pixel in colour and three dimensions with the High Resolution Stereo Camera Experiment on the European Space Agency Mars Express Mission has made it possible to study the time-stratigraphic relationships of volcanic and glacial structures in unprecedented detail and give insight into the geological evolution of Mars. Here we show that calderas on five major volcanoes on Mars have undergone repeated activation and resurfacing during the last 20 per cent of martian history, with phases of activity as young as two million years, suggesting that the volcanoes are potentially still active today. Glacial deposits at the base of the Olympus Mons escarpment show evidence for repeated phases of activity as recently as about four million years ago. Morphological evidence is found that snow and ice deposition on the Olympus construct at elevations of more than 7,000 metres led to episodes of glacial activity at this height. Even now, water ice protected by an insulating layer of dust may be present at high altitudes on Olympus Mons.     

ENSO循环与行星位置的相互关系Ⅱ:行星视赤经与赤道东太平洋海温的联系

 利用通用天文软件SKYMap Pro Version 8提供的大行星冲日资料和计算得到的各大行星视赤经资料,分析了行星相对位置与ENSO之间的相互关系,结果发现两者之间存在明显联系,主要有:三大行星(火、木、土)在3月冲日,有利于在当年发生EL-Nino事件,且火星和木星对应的事件持续时间都较长,特别是木星3月冲日与1990s以后的2次EL-Nino群发期有很好的对应,与土星对应的事件持续较短.火星和木星在8月冲日有利于次年发生EL-Nino现象,土星则不明显.火星和木星在9月冲日容易在当年发生LA-Nina现象,而土星在9月冲日的头一年易发生EL-Nino,次年易发生LA-Nina.对行星的视赤经与赤道太平洋海温关键区之间相互关联的非偶然性检验表明,只有木星和土星存在相关区.木星视赤经相对于Nino 4海温距平大于0的概率呈现偏心结构,并存在2个奇对称区域;土星的对应区相对比较均匀,存在3个偶对称区域,且彼此相差60°,在空间上构成六角型结构.     

Civil conflicts are associated with the global climate

It has been proposed that changes in global climate have been responsible for episodes of widespread violence and even the collapse of civilizations. Yet previous studies have not shown that violence can be attributed to the global climate, only that random weather events might be correlated with conflict in some cases. Here we directly associate planetary-scale climate changes with global patterns of civil conflict by examining the dominant interannual mode of the modern climate, the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Historians have argued that ENSO may have driven global patterns of civil conflict in the distant past, a hypothesis that we extend to the modern era and test quantitatively. Using data from 1950 to 2004, we show that the probability of new civil conflicts arising throughout the tropics doubles during El Ni?o years relative to La Ni?a years. This result, which indicates that ENSO may have had a role in 21% of all civil conflicts since 1950, is the first demonstration that the stability of modern societies relates strongly to the global climate.     

Subsurface water and clay mineral formation during the early history of Mars

Clay minerals, recently discovered to be widespread in Mars's Noachian terrains, indicate long-duration interaction between water and rock over 3.7 billion years ago. Analysis of how they formed should indicate what environmental conditions prevailed on early Mars. If clays formed near the surface by weathering, as is common on Earth, their presence would indicate past surface conditions warmer and wetter than at present. However, available data instead indicate substantial Martian clay formation by hydrothermal groundwater circulation and a Noachian rock record dominated by evidence of subsurface waters. Cold, arid conditions with only transient surface water may have characterized Mars's surface for over 4 billion years, since the early-Noachian period, and the longest-duration aqueous, potentially habitable environments may have been in the subsurface.     

Dynamics of ice ages on Mars

Unlike Earth, where astronomical climate forcing is comparatively small, Mars experiences dramatic changes in incident sunlight that are capable of redistributing ice on a global scale. The geographic extent of the subsurface ice found poleward of approximately +/-60 degrees latitude on both hemispheres of Mars coincides with the areas where ice is stable. However, the tilt of Mars' rotation axis (obliquity) changed considerably in the past several million years. Earlier work has shown that regions of ice stability, which are defined by temperature and atmospheric humidity, differed in the recent past from today's, and subsurface ice is expected to retreat quickly when unstable. Here I explain how the subsurface ice sheets could have evolved to the state in which we see them today. Simulations of the retreat and growth of ground ice as a result of sublimation loss and recharge reveal forty major ice ages over the past five million years. Today, this gives rise to pore ice at mid-latitudes and a three-layered depth distribution in the high latitudes of, from top to bottom, a dry layer, pore ice, and a massive ice sheet. Combined, these layers provide enough ice to be compatible with existing neutron and gamma-ray measurements.     

火星盐类研究进展

 因携带水相关地质过程及环境的丰富信息,进而与生命起源密切相关,行星盐类研究受到大量科研工作者的关注。好奇号登陆之后,火星盐类研究取得了一些新进展。例如,在着陆区泥岩中发现了黄钾铁矾;在泥岩及泥岩砂岩的不整合接触面发现了石膏脉;在风沉积及原位沉积岩中发现了硝酸盐。此外,通过遥感手段,还发现火星新出现的斜坡沟渠可能是由含高氯酸盐高浓卤水冲击形成的。这些新进展再次表明了盐类对于火星科学的重要性。结合已有研究,凝练了火星盐类研究存在的重要科学问题,展望了中国未来火星探测研究。     

Thermal history of Mars inferred from orbital geochemistry of volcanic provinces

Reconstruction of the geological history of Mars has been the focus of considerable attention over the past four decades, with important discoveries being made about variations in surface conditions. However, despite a significant increase in the amount of data related to the morphology, mineralogy and chemistry of the martian surface, there is no clear global picture of how magmatism has evolved over time and how these changes relate to the internal workings and thermal evolution of the planet. Here we present geochemical data derived from the Gamma Ray Spectrometer on board NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft, focusing on twelve major volcanic provinces of variable age. Our analysis reveals clear trends in composition that are found to be consistent with varying degrees of melting of the martian mantle. There is evidence for thickening of the lithosphere (17-25?km?Gyr(-1)) associated with a decrease in mantle potential temperature over time (30-40?K?Gyr(-1)). Our inferred thermal history of Mars, unlike that of the Earth, is consistent with simple models of mantle convection.     

Geology and insolation-driven climatic history of Amazonian north polar materials on Mars

Mariner 9 and Viking spacecraft images revealed that the polar regions of Mars, like those of Earth, record the planet's climate history. However, fundamental uncertainties regarding the materials, features, ages and processes constituting the geologic record remained. Recently acquired Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data and Mars Orbiter Camera high-resolution images from the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft and moderately high-resolution Thermal Emission Imaging System visible images from the Mars Odyssey spacecraft permit more comprehensive geologic and climatic analyses. Here I map and show the history of geologic materials and features in the north polar region that span the Amazonian period (approximately 3.0 Gyr ago to present). Erosion and redeposition of putative circumpolar mud volcano deposits (formed by eruption of liquefied, fine-grained material) led to the formation of an Early Amazonian polar plateau consisting of dark layered materials. Crater ejecta superposed on pedestals indicate that a thin mantle was present during most of the Amazonian, suggesting generally higher obliquity and insolation conditions at the poles than at present. Brighter polar layered deposits rest unconformably on the dark layers and formed mainly during lower obliquity over the past 4-5 Myr (ref. 20). Finally, the uppermost layers post-date the latest downtrend in obliquity <20,000 years ago.     

Coupled 142Nd-143Nd evidence for a protracted magma ocean in Mars

Resolving early silicate differentiation timescales is crucial for understanding the chemical evolution and thermal histories of terrestrial planets. Planetary-scale magma oceans are thought to have formed during early stages of differentiation, but the longevity of such magma oceans is poorly constrained. In Mars, the absence of vigorous convection and plate tectonics has limited the scale of compositional mixing within its interior, thus preserving the early stages of planetary differentiation. The SNC (Shergotty-Nakhla-Chassigny) meteorites from Mars retain 'memory' of these events. Here we apply the short-lived 146Sm-142Nd and the long-lived 147Sm-143Nd chronometers to a suite of shergottites to unravel the history of early silicate differentiation in Mars. Our data are best explained by progressive crystallization of a magma ocean with a duration of approximately 100 million years after core formation. This prolonged solidification requires the existence of a primitive thick atmosphere on Mars that reduces the cooling rate of the interior.     

Russian Nuclear Rocket Engine Design for Mars Exploration

This paper is to promote investigation into the nuclear rocket engine (NRE) propulsion option that is considered as a key technology for manned Mars exploration. Russian NRE developed since the 1950s in the former Soviet Union to a full-cale prototype by the 1990s is viewed as advantageous and the most suit-able starting point concept for manned Mars mission application study. The main features of Russian het-erogeneous core NRE design are described and the most valuable experimental performance results are summarized. These results have demonstrated the significant specific impulse performance advantage of the NRE over conventional liquid rocket engine (LRE) propulsion technologies. Based on past experience, the recent developments in the field of high-temperature nuclear fuels, and the latest conceptual studies, the developed NRE concept is suggested to be upgraded to the nuclear power and propulsion system (NPPS), more suitable for future manned Mars missions. Although the NRE still needs development for space appli-cation, the problems are solvable with additional effort and funding.     

Impact origin of sediments at the Opportunity landing site on Mars

Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity discovered sediments with layered structures thought to be unique to aqueous deposition and with minerals attributed to evaporation of an acidic salty sea. Remarkable iron-rich spherules were ascribed to later groundwater alteration, and the inferred abundance of water reinforced optimism that Mars was once habitable. The layered structures, however, are not unique to water deposition, and the scenario encounters difficulties in accounting for highly soluble salts admixed with less soluble salts, the lack of clay minerals from acid-rock reactions, high sphericity and near-uniform sizes of the spherules and the absence of a basin boundary. Here we present a simple alternative explanation involving deposition from a ground-hugging turbulent flow of rock fragments, salts, sulphides, brines and ice produced by meteorite impact. Subsequent weathering by intergranular water films can account for all of the features observed without invoking shallow seas, lakes or near-surface aquifers. Layered sequences observed elsewhere on heavily cratered Mars and attributed to wind, water or volcanism may well have formed similarly. If so, the search for past life on Mars should be reassessed accordingly.     

Geochemical evidence for magmatic water within Mars from pyroxenes in the Shergotty meteorite

Observations of martian surface morphology have been used to argue that an ancient ocean once existed on Mars. It has been thought that significant quantities of such water could have been supplied to the martian surface through volcanic outgassing, but this suggestion is contradicted by the low magmatic water content that is generally inferred from chemical analyses of igneous martian meteorites. Here, however, we report the distributions of trace elements within pyroxenes of the Shergotty meteorite--a basalt body ejected 175 million years ago from Mars--as well as hydrous and anhydrous crystallization experiments that, together, imply that water contents of pre-eruptive magma on Mars could have been up to 1.8%. We found that in the Shergotty meteorite, the inner cores of pyroxene minerals (which formed at depth in the martian crust) are enriched in soluble trace elements when compared to the outer rims (which crystallized on or near to the martian surface). This implies that water was present in pyroxenes at depth but was largely lost as pyroxenes were carried to the surface during magma ascent. We conclude that ascending magmas possibly delivered significant quantities of water to the martian surface in recent times, reconciling geologic and petrologic constraints on the outgassing history of Mars.     

Simulation of the atmospheric thermal circulation of a martian volcano using a mesoscale numerical model

Mesoscale (<100 km) atmospheric phenomena are ubiquitous on Mars, as revealed by Mars Orbiter Camera images. Numerical models provide an important means of investigating martian atmospheric dynamics, for which data availability is limited. But the resolution of general circulation models, which are traditionally used for such research, is not sufficient to resolve mesoscale phenomena. To provide better understanding of these relatively small-scale phenomena, mesoscale models have recently been introduced. Here we simulate the mesoscale spiral dust cloud observed over the caldera of the volcano Arsia Mons by using the Mars Regional Atmospheric Modelling System. Our simulation uses a hierarchy of nested models with grid sizes ranging from 240 km to 3 km, and reveals that the dust cloud is an indicator of a greater but optically thin thermal circulation that reaches heights of up to 30 km, and transports dust horizontally over thousands of kilometres.     

基于混合分布模型数据挖掘的研究进展

基于混合分布模型的数据挖掘和知识发现是近几年发展起来的方法,本文从其原理出发,介绍了该模型的发展及其在数据挖掘中的实现方法,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望,给出了若干值得研究的问题.     

Formation of recent martian gullies through melting of extensive water-rich snow deposits

The observation of gullies on Mars indicates the presence of liquid water near the surface in recent times, which is difficult to reconcile with the current cold climate. Gullies have been proposed to form through surface runoff from subsurface aquifers or through melting of near-surface ice under warmer conditions. But these gullies are observed to occur preferentially in cold mid-latitudes, where the presence of liquid water is less likely, and on isolated surfaces where groundwater seepage would not be expected, making both potential explanations unsatisfactory. Here I show that gullies can form by the melting of water-rich snow that has been transported from the poles to mid-latitudes during periods of high obliquity within the past 10(5) to 10(6) years (refs 5, 6). Melting within this snow can generate sufficient water to erode gullies in about 5,000 years. My proposed model for gully formation is consistent with the age and location of the gullies, and it explains the occurrence of liquid water in the cold mid-latitudes as well as on isolated surfaces. Remnants of the snowpacks are still present on mid-latitude, pole-facing slopes, and the recent or current occurrence of liquid water within them provides a potential abode for life.     

Evidence from the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera for a frozen sea close to Mars' equator

It is thought that the Cerberus Fossae fissures on Mars were the source of both lava and water floods two to ten million years ago. Evidence for the resulting lava plains has been identified in eastern Elysium, but seas and lakes from these fissures and previous water flooding events were presumed to have evaporated and sublimed away. Here we present High Resolution Stereo Camera images from the European Space Agency Mars Express spacecraft that indicate that such lakes may still exist. We infer that the evidence is consistent with a frozen body of water, with surface pack-ice, around 5 degrees north latitude and 150 degrees east longitude in southern Elysium. The frozen lake measures about 800 x 900 km in lateral extent and may be up to 45 metres deep--similar in size and depth to the North Sea. From crater counts, we determined its age to be 5 +/- 2 million years old. If our interpretation is confirmed, this is a place that might preserve evidence of primitive life, if it has ever developed on Mars.     

Mars' core and magnetism.

The detection of strongly magnetized ancient crust on Mars is one of the most surprising outcomes of recent Mars exploration, and provides important insight about the history and nature of the martian core. The iron-rich core probably formed during the hot accretion of Mars approximately 4.5 billion years ago and subsequently cooled at a rate dictated by the overlying mantle. A core dynamo operated much like Earth's current dynamo, but was probably limited in duration to several hundred million years. The early demise of the dynamo could have arisen through a change in the cooling rate of the mantle, or even a switch in convective style that led to mantle heating. Presently, Mars probably has a liquid, conductive outer core and might have a solid inner core like Earth.     

MARSIS radar sounder evidence of buried basins in the northern lowlands of Mars

A hemispheric dichotomy on Mars is marked by the sharp contrast between the sparsely cratered northern lowland plains and the heavily cratered southern highlands. Mechanisms proposed to remove ancient crust or form younger lowland crust include one or more giant impacts, subcrustal transport by mantle convection, the generation of thinner crust by plate tectonics, and mantle overturn following solidification of an early magma ocean. The age of the northern lowland crust is a significant constraint on these models. The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionospheric Sounding (MARSIS) instrument on the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft is providing new constraints on the martian subsurface. Here we show evidence of buried impact basins ranging in diameter from about 130 km to 470 km found over approximately 14 per cent of the northern lowlands. The number of detected buried basins >200 km in diameter indicates that the lowland crust is ancient, dating back to the Early Noachian epoch. This crater density is a lower limit because of the likelihood that not all buried basins in the area surveyed by MARSIS have been detected. An Early Noachian age for the lowland crust has been previously suggested on the basis of a large number of quasi-circular topographic depressions interpreted to be evidence of buried basins. Only a few of these depressions in the area surveyed by MARSIS, however, correlate with the detected subsurface echoes. On the basis of the MARSIS data, we conclude that the northern lowland crust is at least as old as the oldest exposed highland crust. This suggests that the crustal dichotomy formed early in the geologic evolution of Mars.