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Mars volatile evolution: Implications of the recent measurement of 17 O in water from the SNC meteorites
Author(s) -
Jakosky Bruce M.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/93gl01598
Subject(s) - meteorite , fractionation , astrobiology , mars exploration program , martian , atmosphere of mars , mass independent fractionation , isotopes of oxygen , oxygen , geology , chondrite , atmosphere (unit) , isotope , isotope fractionation , chemistry , geochemistry , physics , nuclear physics , thermodynamics , organic chemistry
Escape of oxygen to space on Mars is capable of producing a fractionation of oxygen isotopes in the remaining oxygen which is off of the fractionation line produced by the usual mass‐dependent exchange processes. The magnitude of fractionation which can occur can be larger than that which was measured in oxygen in water derived from the SNC meteorites (thought to have come from Mars). In conjunction with the apparent lack of fractionation of 18 O in the atmosphere, this result suggests that less than 25% of the oxygen in the martian climate system has been lost over geologic time. Other mechanisms also might be able to produce such a fractionation, so that this conclusion is not unique; however, it is consistent with other lines of evidence. There is no requirement for an initial volatile inventory with an isotopic composition different from that of the bulk planet (as might be the case for a late veneer of volatile‐rich material).