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Published May 5, 1995 | public
Journal Article

Loss of Atmosphere from Mars Due to Solar Wind-induced Sputtering

Abstract

Because Mars does not have a strong intrinsic magnetic field, the atmosphere is eroded by interactions with the solar wind. Early solar-system conditions enhanced the sputtering loss. It is calculated that -3 bars of carbon dioxide (CO_2) have been sputtered over the last 3.5 billion years. This significant increase over the previous estimate by Luhmann et al. of ~0.14 bar of CO_2 is the result of the development of a more complete model. The model also predicts slightly greater loss of water-~80 meters instead of the ~50 meters predicted by Luhmann et al. Because estimates of CO_2 on early Mars range from 0.5 to 5 bars, the 0.14-bar estimate is insignificant but the ~3-bar estimate will have a large effect on our understanding of the planet's evolution.

Additional Information

© 1995 American Association for the Advancement of Science. 26 July 1994; accepted 1 November 1994. D.K. was supported by an NSF fellowship. This work was supported in part by National Aeronautics and Space Administration grants NAGW-1538 and NAG2-764. We thank J. G. Luhmann and R. E. Johnson for comments and discussions.

Additional details

Created:
August 22, 2023
Modified:
October 17, 2023