Abstract
Is the recently found seepage groundwater on Mars pure H2O, or mixed with salts and other antifreeze compounds? Given the surface conditions of Mars, it is unlikely that pure water could either exist in its liquid state or have shaped Mars’ fluid erosional landforms (gullies, channels, and valley networks). More likely is that Mars’ seepage groundwater contains antifreeze and salt compounds that resist freezing and suppress evaporation. This model better accounts for Mars’ enigmatic surface erosion. This paper suggests 17 antifreeze compounds potentially present in Martian seepage groundwater. Given their liquid state and physical properties, triethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, and 1,3-propylene glycol are advanced as the most likely candidate compounds. This paper also explores how a mixing of glycol or glycerol with salts in the Martian seepage groundwater may have lowered water’s freezing point and raised its boiling point, with consequences that created fluid gully and channel erosion. Ethylene glycol and related hydrocarbon compounds have been identified in Martian and other interstellar meteorites. We suggest that these compounds and their proportions to water be included for detection in future explorations.
Highlights
Malin and Edgett (2000a, b) discovered evidence of recent groundwater seepage and seepage-fed surface runoff in Newton Crater’s eroded gullies and sedimentary formations on Mars
Since the boiling point of pure water at 6.1 mbar of atmospheric pressure is about 273.15 K, pure water seeping to the Martian surface will boil if temperatures are higher than this value
The relative merits of brine vs. antifreeze scenarios are difficult to address, but we propose that a mixing of glycol or glycerol with evaporitic salts in the Martian seepage groundwater may have been more efficient in lowering water’s freezing point and raising its boiling point
Summary
Malin and Edgett (2000a, b) discovered evidence of recent groundwater seepage and seepage-fed surface runoff in Newton Crater’s eroded gullies and sedimentary formations on Mars. These eroded gullies have clearly been formed within the past few million years (Malin and Edgett 2000a, 2001; Edgett et al 2003). The existence of these hospitable regions does not, mean that surface liquid water had direct atmospheric origins (Haberle et al 2001). A water-antifreeze-salt system would allow liquid water to travel substantial distance from the point of discharge before being frozen
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