The nitrate/(per)chlorate relationship on Mars

Jennifer C. Stern; Brad Sutter; W. Andrew Jackson; Rafael Navarro-González; Christopher P. McKay; Douglas W. Ming; P. Douglas Archer; Paul R. Mahaffy

doi:10.1002/2016GL072199

The nitrate/(per)chlorate relationship on Mars

Jennifer C. Stern, Brad Sutter, W. Andrew Jackson, Rafael Navarro-González, Christopher P. McKay, Douglas W. Ming, P. Douglas Archer, Paul R. Mahaffy

Civil Environ Construct Engineering

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nitrate was recently detected in Gale Crater sediments on Mars at abundances up to ~600 mg/kg, confirming predictions of its presence at abundances consistent with models based on impact-generated nitrate and other sources of fixed nitrogen. Terrestrial Mars analogs, Mars meteorites, and other solar system materials help establish a context for interpreting in situ nitrate measurements on Mars, particularly in relation to other cooccuring salts. We compare the relative abundance of nitrates to oxychlorine (chlorate and/or perchlorate, hereafter (per)chlorate) salts on Mars and Earth. The nitrate/(per)chlorate ratio on Mars is < 1, significantly lower than on Earth (nitrate/(per)chlorate > 10³), suggesting not only the absence of biological activity but also different (per)chlorate formation mechanisms on Mars than on Earth.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	2643-2651
Number of pages	9
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	44
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072199
State	Published - Mar 28 2017

Keywords

Mars
Mars analogs
astrobiology
habitability
nitrate
perchlorate

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title = "The nitrate/(per)chlorate relationship on Mars",

abstract = "Nitrate was recently detected in Gale Crater sediments on Mars at abundances up to ~600 mg/kg, confirming predictions of its presence at abundances consistent with models based on impact-generated nitrate and other sources of fixed nitrogen. Terrestrial Mars analogs, Mars meteorites, and other solar system materials help establish a context for interpreting in situ nitrate measurements on Mars, particularly in relation to other cooccuring salts. We compare the relative abundance of nitrates to oxychlorine (chlorate and/or perchlorate, hereafter (per)chlorate) salts on Mars and Earth. The nitrate/(per)chlorate ratio on Mars is < 1, significantly lower than on Earth (nitrate/(per)chlorate > 103), suggesting not only the absence of biological activity but also different (per)chlorate formation mechanisms on Mars than on Earth.",

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AU - Stern, Jennifer C.

AU - Sutter, Brad

AU - Jackson, W. Andrew

AU - Navarro-González, Rafael

AU - McKay, Christopher P.

AU - Ming, Douglas W.

AU - Archer, P. Douglas

AU - Mahaffy, Paul R.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: Published 2017. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the United States of America. Copyright: Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2017/3/28

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AB - Nitrate was recently detected in Gale Crater sediments on Mars at abundances up to ~600 mg/kg, confirming predictions of its presence at abundances consistent with models based on impact-generated nitrate and other sources of fixed nitrogen. Terrestrial Mars analogs, Mars meteorites, and other solar system materials help establish a context for interpreting in situ nitrate measurements on Mars, particularly in relation to other cooccuring salts. We compare the relative abundance of nitrates to oxychlorine (chlorate and/or perchlorate, hereafter (per)chlorate) salts on Mars and Earth. The nitrate/(per)chlorate ratio on Mars is < 1, significantly lower than on Earth (nitrate/(per)chlorate > 103), suggesting not only the absence of biological activity but also different (per)chlorate formation mechanisms on Mars than on Earth.

KW - Mars

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