Atmospheric origins of perchlorate on Mars and in the Atacama

Isotopic studies indicate that natural perchlorate is produced on Earth in arid environments by the oxidation of chlorine species through pathways involving ozone or its photochemical products. With this analogy, we propose that the arid environment on Mars may have given rise to perchlorate through...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Geophysical Research. B. Solid Earth 2010-01, Vol.115 (E1), p.n/a
Main Authors: Catling, D. C., Claire, M. W., Zahnle, K. J., Quinn, R. C., Clark, B. C., Hecht, M. H., Kounaves, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arid environments
Atacama
Atmosphere
Atmospheric sciences
Atmospherics
Chlorine
Earth
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Gas phases
Geochemistry
Hydrology
Mars
Origins
Oxidation
Oxidizing agents
Pathways
Perchlorate
Perchlorates
Photochemical reactions
Photochemicals
Photochemistry
Planetology
Planets
Soils
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Isotopic studies indicate that natural perchlorate is produced on Earth in arid environments by the oxidation of chlorine species through pathways involving ozone or its photochemical products. With this analogy, we propose that the arid environment on Mars may have given rise to perchlorate through the action of atmospheric oxidants. A variety of hypothetical pathways can be proposed including photochemical reactions, electrostatic discharge, and gas‐solid reactions. Because perchlorate‐rich deposits in the Atacama desert are closest in abundance to perchlorate measured at NASA's Phoenix Lander site, we made a preliminary study of the means to produce Atacama perchlorate to help shed light on the origin of Martian perchlorate. We investigated gas phase pathways using a 1‐D photochemical model. We found that perchlorate can be produced in sufficient quantities to explain the abundance of perchlorate in the Atacama from a proposed gas phase oxidation of chlorine volatiles to perchloric acid. The feasibility of gas phase production for the Atacama provides justification for future investigations of gas phase photochemistry as a possible source for Martian perchlorate.
ISSN:0148-0227
2169-9097
2156-2202
2169-9100
DOI:10.1029/2009JE003425