Atmosphere-crust coupling and carbon sequestration on the young Mars

Professor Martin R. Lee¹*, Dr Patrick Harkness² and Dr Darren Mark<sup>3

1</sup>School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow
²School of Engineering, University of Glasgow
³Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, East Kilbride
*Contact: Martin.Lee@Glasgow.ac.uk

Images of Mars from orbiters reveal dry river channels and lake beds, which are clear evidence that water once flowed over the planet's surface. It is quite possible that life could have evolved in these hospitable environments, but about three thousand million years ago Mars became cold, arid and hostile. This project will explore the reasons for the dramatic change in climate, and specifically will test the hypothesis that early Mars supported liquid water, and possibly also life, because it had a warm and dense CO2-rich atmosphere.

The key to the problem of martian climate deterioration is accounting for the CO2 that has been lost. A proportion of the early atmosphere may have escaped to space or been frozen into the polar caps, but here we will examine the idea that CO2 was 'scrubbed' by precipitation of carbonate minerals within the planet's crust - a reaction termed 'carbonation'. This project will seek evidence for carbonation by analysis of martian meteorites and data from orbiters and rovers. The effectiveness of carbonation will be assessed by examining carbonated terrestrial rocks and undertaking laboratory experiments. Once the tell-tale signs of this process have been identified, new tools will be developed in collaboration with space systems engineers at Glasgow that can be used by future Mars rovers to locate and study the products of atmosphere-crust reactions.

This project would suit someone with a background in Earth Science/planetary geology, but they should also have an interest in developing space hardware. The student will be based with Prof. Lee in the School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, and will be co-supervised by Dr Harkness (School of Engineering) and Dr Mark (SUERC, East Kilbride). Time will also be spent at Imperial College (London) collaborating with Prof. Sanjeev Gupta. This project is part of a larger planetary materials research programme being undertaken by the University of Glasgow and SUERC, together with UK and international partners.

Funding Notes

This project has 3.5 years of funding through the UK Space Agency, and the studentship will be awarded by competitive interview. Funding is available only to EU nationals, and for information on eligibility see: http://www.stfc.ac.uk/1512.aspx. The closing date is 12 September 2013. For application information, contact the supervisors or apply via the website of the Glasgow University College of Science and Engineering (http://www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/scienceengineering/graduateschool/postgraduateresearch/howtoapply/).