Mars - Epochal climate change and volatile historyThe epochal climate change and volatile history of Mars are examined, with special attention given to evidence for and mechanisms of long-term climate change. Long-term climate change on Mars is indicated most directly by the presence, age, and distribution of the valley networks. They were almost certainly formed by running water, but it seems more likely that they were formed by groundwater sapping than by rainfall. It is argued to be physically plausible that a higher early intensity of surface insolation caused by a CO2 greenhouse effect could have overcompensated for an early weak sun and raised temperatures to the freezing point near the equator under favorable conditions of obliquity and eccentricity. This could account for the morphological changes.
Document ID
19930043887
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Fanale, Fraser P. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Postawko, Susan E. (Hawaii Univ. Honolulu, United States)
Pollack, James B. (NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Carr, Michael H. (USGS Menlo Park, CA, United States)
Pepin, Robert O. (Minnesota Univ. Minneapolis, United States)