Subsurface water and clay mineral formation during the early history of Mars

Bethany L. Ehlmann (), John F. Mustard, Scott L. Murchie, Jean-Pierre Bibring, Alain Meunier, Abigail A. Fraeman and Yves Langevin
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Bethany L. Ehlmann: Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université de Paris-Sud XI
John F. Mustard: Brown University
Scott L. Murchie: The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Jean-Pierre Bibring: Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université de Paris-Sud XI
Alain Meunier: HydrASA, Université de Poitiers
Abigail A. Fraeman: Washington University in St Louis
Yves Langevin: Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université de Paris-Sud XI

Nature, 2011, vol. 479, issue 7371, 53-60

Abstract: When and where was Mars warm and wet? Widespread bedrock exposures of clay minerals on Mars point to the presence of liquid water in the distant past. The prospect that the planet was once much warmer and wetter than now prompts the question: was early Mars habitable? In a review of data collected in the past decade, Bethany Ehlmann et al. conclude that warm and humid conditions did prevail — not on the planet's surface but beneath it. Mars's surface has probably been cold and dry for more than 4 billion years, with potentially habitable environments limited to the subsurface.

Date: 2011
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DOI: 10.1038/nature10582

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