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Mars Atmospheric Chemistry in Electrified Dust Devils and StormsLaboratory studies, simulations and desert field tests all indicate that aeolian mixing dust can generate electricity via contact electrification or "triboelectricity". In convective structures like dust devils or storms, grain stratification (or charge separation) occurs giving rise to an overall electric dipole moment to the aeolian feature, similar in nature to the dipolar electric field generated in terrestrial thunderstorms. Previous simulation studies [1] indicate that this storm electric field on Mars can approach atmospheric breakdown field strength of 20 kV/m. In terrestrial dust devils, coherent dipolar electric fields exceeding 20 kV/m have been measured directly via electric field instrumentation. Given the expected electrostatic fields in Martian dust devils and storms, electrons in the low pressure CO2 gas can be energized via the electric field to values exceeding the electron dissociative attachment energy of both CO2 and H2O, resulting in the formation of new chemical products CO and O- and OH and H- within the storm. Using a collisional plasma physics model we present a calculation of the CO/O- and OH/H- reaction and production rates. We demonstrate that these rates vary geometrically with ambient electric field, with substantial production of dissociative products when fields approach breakdown levels of 20-30 kV/m.
Document ID
20050167758
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Farrell, W. M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Delory, G. T.
(California Univ. Berkeley, CA, United States)
Atreya, S. K.
(Michigan Univ. MI, United States)
Wong, A.-S.
(Michigan Univ. MI, United States)
Renno, N. O.
(Michigan Univ. MI, United States)
Sentmann, D. D.
(Alaska Univ. AK, United States)
Marshall, J. G.
(Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Inst. CA, United States)
Cummer, S. A.
(Duke Univ. NC, United States)
Rafkin, S.
(Southwest Research Inst. United States)
Catling, D.
(Washington Univ. WA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2005
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVI, Part 6
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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