Multiple early-formed water reservoirs in the interior of Mars

Nature Geoscience
Jessica J BarnesCarl B Agee

Abstract

The abundance and distribution of water within Mars through time plays a fundamental role in constraining its geological evolution and habitability. The isotopic composition of martian hydrogen provides insights into the interplay between different water reservoirs on Mars. However, D/H (deuterium/hydrogen) ratios of martian rocks and of the martian atmosphere span a wide range of values. This has complicated identification of distinct water reservoirs in and on Mars within the confines of existing models that assume an isotopically homogenous mantle. Here we present D/H data collected by secondary ion mass spectrometry for two martian meteorites. These data indicate that the martian crust has been characterized by a constant D/H ratio over the last 3.9 billion years. The crust represents a reservoir with a D/H ratio that is intermediate between at least two isotopically distinct primordial water reservoirs within the martian mantle, sampled by partial melts from geochemically depleted and enriched mantle sources. From mixing calculations, we find that a subset of depleted martian basalts are consistent with isotopically light hydrogen (low D/H) in their mantle source, whereas enriched shergottites sampled a mantle source conta...Continue Reading

References

Oct 3, 1999·Science·L E BorgY Reese
Jan 31, 2013·Nature Communications·Ioannis P BaziotisLawrence A Taylor
Apr 19, 2017·Philosophical Transactions. Series A, Mathematical, Physical, and Engineering Sciences·L J Hallis

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Citations

Sep 22, 2021·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Zhen TianKun Wang

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
overprinting
X-ray
electron microbeam

Software Mentioned

NanoSIMS DataEditor
Probe for EPMA
JEOL
Probe
NanoSIMS

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