CaltechAUTHORS
Published November 16, 2013 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

Primordial argon isotope fractionation in the atmosphere of Mars measured by the SAM instrument on Curiosity and implications for atmospheric loss

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Michigan–Ann Arbor
  • 2. ROR icon Goddard Space Flight Center
  • 3. ROR icon Concordia College - Minnesota
  • 4. ROR icon Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
  • 5. ROR icon Johnson Space Center
  • 6. ROR icon Jet Propulsion Lab
  • 7. ROR icon University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • 8. ROR icon University of Minnesota
  • 9. ROR icon National Autonomous University of Mexico

Abstract

The quadrupole mass spectrometer of the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument on Curiosity rover has made the first high-precision measurement of the nonradiogenic argon isotope ratio in the atmosphere of Mars. The resulting value of ³⁶Ar/³⁸Ar = 4.2 ± 0.1 is highly significant for it provides excellent evidence that "Mars" meteorites are indeed of Martian origin, and it points to a significant loss of argon of at least 50% and perhaps as high as 85–95% from the atmosphere of Mars in the past 4 billion years. Taken together with the isotopic fractionations in N, C, H, and O measured by SAM, these results imply a substantial loss of atmosphere from Mars in the posthydrodynamic escape phase.

Additional Information

We thank John Grotzinger, Alexander Pavlov, Richard Becker, Andrew Steele, Paul Niles, and Susanne Schwenzer for comments on the manuscript and the MSL Team for successful operation of the mission. This research was supported by the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Project. The Editor thanks Roger Wiens and an anonymous reviewer for their assistance in evaluating this manuscript.

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Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
119711
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20230307-649670000.9

Related works

Describes
10.1002/2013GL057763 (DOI)

Funding

NASA

Dates

Created
2023-03-13
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Updated
2023-03-13
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