"Seasonal Changes and Present-day Volatile Abundances on Mars"
Maria T. Zuber (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Abstract:
Mars'
most important volatile constituents are water and carbon dioxide. The
present-day atmosphere is mostly carbon dioxide, while water is present in
trace amounts. In the shallow subsurface, however, water ice is
abundant
at high latitudes and has even been detected at low latitudes that are
conceivably accessible by landed spacecraft. This presentation
will describe ongoing orbital observations of carbon dioxide and water on
Mars. We will discuss how the data are being analyzed to monitor the
exchange of these species between the surface and atmosphere and the
search for evidence of present-day climate change.