Evidence for the abundance of water on Mars now and in the past

Journal Article · Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1989 · Earth in Space; (USA)

OSTI ID:5337686

Clifford, S M; Greeley, R; Haberle, R M ^[1]

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1. Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX (USA)

This paper discusses evidence for the abundance of water on Mars early in its history, based on the analysis of the Viking 1 and 2 images and the Martian-atmosphere water measurements. It is argued that integrated networks of small valleys in the ancient cratered terrain of Mars may indicate that the planet once possessed a warmer climate. It is pointed out that most Martian outflow channels originate from the regions of collapsed and disrupted terrain, suggesting that they were formed by a catastrophic release of groundwater. The question of the fate of Martian water is discussed, and arguments are presented suggesting that the Martian crust may retain significant porosity to a depth of 10 km and may possess a total pore volume sufficient to store a global layer of water 0.5-1.5 km deep.

• OSTI ID: 5337686
• Journal Information: Earth in Space; (USA), Vol. 1; ISSN 1040-3124
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
MARS PLANET
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
ABUNDANCE
CRATERS
GROUND WATER
HYDROGEN
IMAGES
MORPHOLOGY
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
PLANETARY EVOLUTION
POROSITY
SURFACES
VIKING SPACE PROBES
ATMOSPHERES
CAVITIES
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NONMETALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANETS
SOLAR SYSTEM EVOLUTION
SPACE VEHICLES
VEHICLES
WATER
640107* - Astrophysics & Cosmology- Planetary Phenomena