Mars Meteorites Create Water Mystery

[petrocrab]

Perhaps the meteorite featured in today's (7 Aug 07) article received a vitreous glazing upon impact? That might explain the apparent lack of rusting.

 

[MeteorWayne]

What article is that? <br /><br />Aha, you meant this SDC article <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

That seems unlikely, what would create it.<br /><br />The article offers several possible explanations:<br /><br />"With both rovers having gathered evidence for the presence of water in Mars' past, the lack of oxidization is puzzling. Of course, the unknowns are how long these meteorites have been on Mars and what conditions they have been exposed to since they landed."<br /><br />"There really isn't any way to determine how long these meteorites have been on the surface of Mars. I suspect that it has been millions of years, perhaps billions of years, but we just don't know," McSween said.<br /><br />If any of the iron meteorites so far discovered had come into contact with liquid water, ice or water vapor, it should have adopted the same rusty hue as the rest of the surface. Perhaps the rovers have simply caught these specimens during a brief stint on the surface.<br /><br />"Sand dunes move around on Mars and fine dust settles out of the atmosphere, so there are certainly mechanisms for burying meteorites and then re-exposing them. In many places they might sit on the surface for many millions of years without being buried," McSween said.<br /><br />Abrasion by wind blown particles could account for the lack of oxidization on the iron meteorites. Although iron meteorites are easily detectable, they may not be the best candidates for holding onto evidence of water."<br /><br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[3488]

Hi MeteorWayne,<br /><br />Just a quick reply. My hunch & that is all it is, is that the <br />meteorites landed after Mars became dry, cold & dessicating.<br /><br />In fact, the opposite for me is true, I am not surprised that these Iron meteorites show <br />no or very little oxidation, I would have been more surprised if they had rusted.<br /><br />This may confirm some suggestions that the 'warm, wet' period on Mars, was very<br />short lived, although the evidence does point to there being huge quantities of liquid water <br />being present at that time. It was just that it did not last nearly as long as many scientists had <br />suspected. <br /><br />I think these rust free Iron Meteorites may help confirm those suspicions.<br /><br />It was a shame that MER B Opportunity could not have rolled Heat Shield rock, to sample the <br />ground beneath.<br /><br />Anyway, thats my two pennies worth.<br /><br />Fascinating development.<br /><br />Andrew Brown. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080">"I suddenly noticed an anomaly to the left of Io, just off the rim of that world. It was extremely large with respect to the overall size of Io and crescent shaped. It seemed unbelievable that something that big had not been visible before".</font> <em><strong><font color="#000000">Linda Morabito </font></strong><font color="#800000">on discovering that the Jupiter moon Io was volcanically active. Friday 9th March 1979.</font></em></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://www.launchphotography.com/</font><br /><br /><font size="1" color="#000080">http://anthmartian.googlepages.com/thisislandearth</font></p><p><font size="1" color="#000080">http://web.me.com/meridianijournal</font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

True Andrew (Good morning, by the way <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> ) but the atmosphere itself is very oxidizing.<br /><br />While water accelerates the process, it is not necessary for rusting to occur.<br /><br />Or so I understand. We don't have that lack of water problem here on planet earth...more on that in the Forces of Nature thread soon.<br /><br />Wayne <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[petrocrab]

Well, I realize it's a long shot...but we have evidence of pure silica on Mars. Of course, we don't know how much there is, or where distributed - but who knows? If there was silica at the meteorite's impact point, perhaps the force of the collision generated enough heat to create a glaze. - Just a thought.

 

[vandivx]

this remainds me of that 'iron' pillar somewhere in India that doesn't rust<br /><br />I would laugh if ETs one day landed here and told us we are the last suckers in galaxy who's iron is rusting because we don't know how to treat it so it does not<br /><br />vanDivX <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>