NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Duration of liquid water habitats on early MarsThe duration of ice-covered lakes after the initial freezing of the early Mars is presently estimated via a climate model whose critical parameter is the existence of peak seasonal temperatures above freezing, and in which the variability of insolation is included. Under conditions in which meltwater was supplied by an ice source, it is found that water habitats could have been maintained under relatively thin ice sheets for as many as 700 million years after the onset of below-freezing global temperatures. The duration of such habitats on the early Mars therefore exceeds the upper limit of the time envisioned for the emergence of aquatic life on earth.
Document ID
19910050455
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Mckay, Christopher P.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Davis, Wanda L.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 15, 2013
Publication Date
April 1, 1991
Publication Information
Publication: Icarus
Volume: 90
ISSN: 0019-1035
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Exploration
Accession Number
91A35078
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available