Abstract
ALthough direct evidence is lacking, indirect evidence suggests that iron-rich clay minerals or poorly-ordered chemical equivalents ("palagonite') are widespread on the Martian surface. Such clays (or other Fe and OH-bearing phases) can act as sources or sinks for hydrogen ("hydrogen sponges'). In theory, metastable ferric oxy-clays formed by dehydrogenation of ferrous clays over geologic time could, if exposed to water vapor, extract the hydrogen from it, releasing oxygen. Did this happen during the Viking gas exchange experiments on Mars? -from Author
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proc. 19th lunar and planetary science conference |
| Editors | G. Ryder, V.L. Sharpton |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press/Lunar & Planetary Institute |
| Pages | 423-432 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| State | Published - 1989 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Earth and Planetary Sciences
- General Environmental Science