Strong water isotopic anomalies in the martian atmosphere: Probing current and ancient reservoirs
Mapping Mars' water history
We know the water cycle on Earth is complex. Neither is it simple on Mars. Infrared maps of water isotopes made by Villanueva et al. show the distribution of H2O and “semiheavy” water (HDO: deuterated water containing a mixture of hydrogen isotopes) across Mars. HDO enrichment varies with time and location; for example, irregular isotopic signals associate with different terrain features. The measurements also allow seasonal sublimation levels of the northern ice cap to be estimated and thus could be used to reveal past climate behavior.
Science, this issue p. 218
Abstract
We measured maps of atmospheric water (H2O) and its deuterated form (HDO) across the martian globe, showing strong isotopic anomalies and a significant high deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) enrichment indicative of great water loss. The maps sample the evolution of sublimation from the north polar cap, revealing that the released water has a representative D/H value enriched by a factor of about 7 relative to Earth’s ocean [Vienna standard mean ocean water (VSMOW)]. Certain basins and orographic depressions show even higher enrichment, whereas high-altitude regions show much lower values (1 to 3 VSMOW). Our atmospheric maps indicate that water ice in the polar reservoirs is enriched in deuterium to at least 8 VSMOW, which would mean that early Mars (4.5 billion years ago) had a global equivalent water layer at least 137 meters deep.
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Received: 24 November 2014
Accepted: 6 February 2015
5 March 2015
Acknowledgments
We thank the staff of the Very Large Telescope (runs 83.C-0538 and 92.C-0436), the NASA InfraRed Telescope Facility, and the W. M. Keck Observatory for their exceptional support throughout our long Mars observing Programs. G.L.V. acknowledges support from NASA’s Planetary Astronomy Program (08 PAST08 0034) and NASA’s Planetary Atmospheres Program (08 PATM08 0031). NASA’s Planetary Astronomy Program (RTOP 344 32 07) and NASA’s Astrobiology Program (RTOP 344 53 51) supported M.J.M. and G.L.V. NSF Research in Undergraduate Institutions supported R.E.N. through grant AST 0805540. This work was also supported by a NASA Keck PI Data Award. The authors recognize and acknowledge the very important cultural role and reverence that the summit of MaunaKea has always had within the indigenous Hawaiian community. We are most fortunate to have the opportunity to conduct observations from this mountain.
