Loss of Atmosphere from Mars Due to Solar Wind-induced Sputtering
- Creators
- Kass, D. M.
-
Yung, Y. L.
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
- Eprint ID
- 48679
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140819-100325737
- NASA
- NAGW-1538
- NASA
- NAG2-764
- NSF
- Created
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2014-08-19Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences (GPS)