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. 2015 Jan 23;347(6220):412-4.
doi: 10.1126/science.1260291. Epub 2014 Dec 16.

Mars atmosphere. The imprint of atmospheric evolution in the D/H of Hesperian clay minerals on Mars

P R Mahaffy  1 , C R Webster  2 , J C Stern  3 , A E Brunner  4 , S K Atreya  5 , P G Conrad  3 , S Domagal-Goldman  3 , J L Eigenbrode  3 , G J Flesch  2 , L E Christensen  2 , H B Franz  6 , C Freissinet  7 , D P Glavin  3 , J P Grotzinger  8 , J H Jones  9 , L A Leshin  10 , C Malespin  11 , A C McAdam  3 , D W Ming  9 , R Navarro-Gonzalez  12 , P B Niles  9 , T Owen  13 , A A Pavlov  3 , A Steele  14 , M G Trainer  3 , K H Williford  2 , J J Wray  15 ; MSL Science Team
Collaborators, Affiliations

Mars atmosphere. The imprint of atmospheric evolution in the D/H of Hesperian clay minerals on Mars

P R Mahaffy et al. Science. .

Abstract

The deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) ratio in strongly bound water or hydroxyl groups in ancient martian clays retains the imprint of the water of formation of these minerals. Curiosity's Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) experiment measured thermally evolved water and hydrogen gas released between 550° and 950°C from samples of Hesperian-era Gale crater smectite to determine this isotope ratio. The D/H value is 3.0 (±0.2) times the ratio in standard mean ocean water. The D/H ratio in this ~3-billion-year-old mudstone, which is half that of the present martian atmosphere but substantially higher than that expected in very early Mars, indicates an extended history of hydrogen escape and desiccation of the planet.

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