10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
[MIS26-06] Cycles and escape of water on Earth and Mars: implications from hydrogen isotopic compositions
★Invited papers
Keywords:Earth, Mars, Isotopes, Water cycle, Atmospheric escape
The presence of water influences the tectonics and mantle convection and therefore changes the chemical reactions occurring on planetary surfaces, the volatile cycles among different reservoirs, and the thermal evolution of planets. Because Earth is the only planet known to be sustaining oceans through its history and Mars probably lost the liquid water that once existed on its surface, comparative planetology of these planets would help us to understand the sustainability of water on terrestrial planets.
As hydrogen isotope (D/H) compositions vary among different sources of water and fractionate through planetary processes, the origins and evolution of water can be constrained by D/H data. The D/H ratios of the terrestrial water and the primitive Martian water are nearly identical, suggesting their common origins (Usui et al. 2012). The D/H ratios of surficial water on present-day Mars are ~6 times higher than the primitive value, suggesting significant water loss through its history (Villanueva et al. 2015).
By combining theoretical models of cycles of water among different reservoirs with D/H data, we constrained the cycles and escape of water on Earth and Mars. The small difference in D/H ratios of the oceans and mantle of Earth can be understood as resulting from a balance between the fractionation due to the ingassing and outgassing processes, suggesting an efficient water cycle (Kurokawa et al. in prep). On the other hand, the D/H ratios of different water reservoirs on Mars are likely to be quite inhomogeneous (Usui et al. 2015), suggesting the less efficient, limited cycles of water at least from ~4 Ga to present (Kurokawa et al. 2016). An increase in the D/H ratios of the terrestrial oceans from Archean to present (Pope et al. 2012) is likely to be a signature of the evolution toward a steady state, rather than that of the water loss (Kurokawa et al. in prep). In contrast, our study demonstrated that water loss from Mars before ~4 Ga was more significant than during the rest of its history. Our model suggested that a significant fraction of paleo-oceans is stored as ground ice on present-day Mars (Kurokawa et al. 2014).
The fates of Earth and Mars probably diverged very early (~4 Ga) in their evolutions.
As hydrogen isotope (D/H) compositions vary among different sources of water and fractionate through planetary processes, the origins and evolution of water can be constrained by D/H data. The D/H ratios of the terrestrial water and the primitive Martian water are nearly identical, suggesting their common origins (Usui et al. 2012). The D/H ratios of surficial water on present-day Mars are ~6 times higher than the primitive value, suggesting significant water loss through its history (Villanueva et al. 2015).
By combining theoretical models of cycles of water among different reservoirs with D/H data, we constrained the cycles and escape of water on Earth and Mars. The small difference in D/H ratios of the oceans and mantle of Earth can be understood as resulting from a balance between the fractionation due to the ingassing and outgassing processes, suggesting an efficient water cycle (Kurokawa et al. in prep). On the other hand, the D/H ratios of different water reservoirs on Mars are likely to be quite inhomogeneous (Usui et al. 2015), suggesting the less efficient, limited cycles of water at least from ~4 Ga to present (Kurokawa et al. 2016). An increase in the D/H ratios of the terrestrial oceans from Archean to present (Pope et al. 2012) is likely to be a signature of the evolution toward a steady state, rather than that of the water loss (Kurokawa et al. in prep). In contrast, our study demonstrated that water loss from Mars before ~4 Ga was more significant than during the rest of its history. Our model suggested that a significant fraction of paleo-oceans is stored as ground ice on present-day Mars (Kurokawa et al. 2014).
The fates of Earth and Mars probably diverged very early (~4 Ga) in their evolutions.