Posted on 02/04/2005 12:55:02 PM PST by presidio9
Injecting synthetic "super" greenhouse gases into the Martian atmosphere could raise the planet's temperature enough to melt its polar ice caps and create conditions suitable for sustaining biological life. In fact, a team of researchers suggests that introducing global warming on the Red Planet may be the best approach for warming the planet's frozen landscape and turning it into a habitable world in the future.
Margarita Marinova, then at the NASA Ames Research Center, and colleagues propose that the same types of atmospheric interactions that have led to recent surface temperature warming trends on Earth could be harnessed on Mars to create another biologically hospitable environment in the solar system. In the February issue of Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets, published by the American Geophysical Union, the researchers report on the thermal energy absorption and the potential surface temperature effects from introducing man-made greenhouse gases strong enough to melt the carbon dioxide and ice on Mars.
"Bringing life to Mars and studying its growth would contribute to our understanding of evolution, and the ability of life to adapt and proliferate on other worlds," Marinova said. "Since warming Mars effectively reverts it to its past, more habitable state, this would give any possibly dormant life on Mars the chance to be revived and develop further."
The authors note that artificially created gases--which would be nearly 10,000 times more effective than carbon dioxide--could be manufactured to have minimal detrimental effects on living organisms and the ozone layer while retaining an exceptionally long lifespan in the environment. They then created a computer model of the Martian atmosphere and analyzed four such gases, individually and in combination, that are considered the best candidates for the job.
Their study focused on fluorine-based gases, composed of elements readily available on the Martian surface, that are known to be effective at absorbing thermal infrared energy. They found that a compound known as octafluoropropane, whose chemical formula is C3F8, produced the greatest warming, while its combination with several similar gases enhanced the warming even further.
The researchers anticipate that adding approximately 300 parts per million of the gas mixture in the current Martian atmosphere, which is the equivalent of nearly two parts per million in an Earth-like atmosphere, would spark a runaway greenhouse effect, creating an instability in the polar ice sheets that would slowly evaporate the frozen carbon dioxide on the planet's surface. They add that the release of increasing amounts of carbon dioxide would lead to further melting and global temperature increases that could then enhance atmospheric pressure and eventually restore a thicker atmosphere to the planet.
Such a process could take centuries or even millennia to complete but, because the raw materials for the fluorine gases already exist on Mars, it is possible that astronauts could create them on a manned mission to the planet. It would otherwise be impossible to deliver gigaton-sized quantities of the gas to Mars. The authors conclude that introducing powerful greenhouse gases is the most feasible technique for raising the temperature and increasing the atmospheric pressure on Mars, particularly when compared to other alternatives like sprinkling sunlight-absorbing dust on the poles or placing large mirrors in the planet's orbit.
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Why not go to Mars and exhale their bong hits? These people think we are anywhere near "terra-forming" an entire planet must be smoking weed. But, they are the same "reefer-crazed" pseudo-scientists who believe we are "terra-forming" this planet.
Men on earth probably put out more co2 in a year than all the co2 in the martian ice caps and little or no global warming has taken place. This idea does not pass the smell test.
Mars has no atmosphere for a reason. It's geologically dead. Not enough large scale tectonic/volcanic activity to replenish the atmosphere. These pipe dreams are a colossal waste of time. How much in tax $$$ did we spend to get this piece of sci fi?
Someone's been watching the ending of Total Recall and thinking it's feasible.
I thought Mars was too small gravitically to hold any sort of substantial atmosphere. Is this not the case?
/BennyOff
Anything to secure another research grant
Just a "couple" of centuries? Try a couple of Millennia...
Last time I looked it is too far away fom the sun and too inactive itself to be a sustainable habitat even with heavy duty man-made pollution, etc. The scientist dreaming this up are the same guys planning to swim in the methane oceans of Saturn's moon on their next vacation.
However, it has been discovered fairly recently that Earth's atmosphere (and water vapor) is regularly replenished by cometary fragments, coming into the gravity well as meteroric "ice"..
One would think the same applies to Mars albeit on a lesser extent.. ( smaller gravitic field of influence )
It is also conjectured that Mars had some of it's water vapor and atmospheric gases "ripped" away at some point in it's history..
There is then the possibility that Mars could actually support a greater atmospheric density if it in fact, had the atmospheric gasses..
Titan, which is smaller, seems to have a fairly dense atmosphere, so the idea of simply "adding" atmospheric gas to the planet is at least feasible..
The idea of increasing the CO2 content of Mars to warm the planet, however, is ridiculous..
It's already got a CO2 atmosphere, and whatever warming that gas can do, is already being done.. ( at least at current atmospheric density. )
And I'm not even going to talk about the total waste of time all this conjecture is, considering the decaying orbit of Phobos..
POsting a pic of Ted Kennedy after a day without booze is relevent HOW? ;)
Lets not waste time. Start building that pipeline to Mars now. It's beginning point should be Capitol Hill.
The polar ice sheets that would slowly evaporate the frozen carbon dioxide on the planet's surface. They add that the release of increasing amounts of carbon dioxide would lead to further melting and global temperature increases that could then enhance atmospheric pressure and eventually restore a thicker atmosphere to the planet.
Uhh.. you were saying?
And who's "We"...? There are 16 posts here, and YOU are # 15..
I have one of those !!!
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