An outrageous hypothesis' for Mars: Episodic oceans

Journal Article · Fri Feb 12 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.259.5097.910· OSTI ID:6884394

Kerr, R A

The Mars Observer spacecraft is due to arrive at Mars in August, and U.S. planetary scientists are already choosing sides on the question of what kind of planet the craft's instruments will see. The two sides can be described, in the playful words of one researcher, as the conservatives' of the planetary community versus the macho' types. The conservative majority opts for the conventional view of Mars: that during the past 3 billion years the atmosphere has been so thin and cold that the planet's water has remained locked up underground as ice. A risk-taking macho minority prefers the radical alternative: a Mars periodically shrouded in an Earth-like atmosphere, with a temporary ocean and massive ice sheets.

• OSTI ID: 6884394
• Journal Information: Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States), Vol. 259:5097; ISSN 0036-8075
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
PLANETARY ATMOSPHERES
GREENHOUSE EFFECT
CLIMATES
ICE
MARS PLANET
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY
SEAS
ATMOSPHERES
CLIMATIC CHANGE
PALEONTOLOGY
PLANETS
SURFACE WATERS
540110*