While the early Mars climate remains an open question, a new study suggests its atmosphere may have been hospitable to life due to volcanic activity which emitted sulfur gases that contributed to a greenhouse warming effect.
While the early Mars climate remains an open question, a new study suggests its atmosphere may have been hospitable to life due to volcanic activity which emitted sulfur gases that contributed to a greenhouse warming effect.
This finding comes from a study published in Science Advances, led by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin.
Using data from the composition of Martian meteorites, the researchers ran more than 40 computer simulations with varied temperatures, concentrations, and chemistry to estimate how much carbon, nitrogen, and sulfide gases may have been emitted on early Mars.
Instead of the high concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) that previous Mars climate models predicted, their research shows volcanic activity on Mars around 3-4 billion years ago may have led to high concentrations of a range of chemically “reduced” forms of sulfur – which are highly reactive. This includes sodium sulfide (H₂S), disulfur (S₂) and possibly sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) – an extremely potent greenhouse gas.
Read More: University of Texas at Austin
Image: Sulfur crystals found inside a rock after NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover happened to drive over it and crush it on May 30, 2024. This discovery supports new research led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin on what types of sulfur would be present on Mars billions of years ago. (Credit: NASA)
