Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Planetary science

Into thin martian air

Nature Geoscience volume 7, pages 329–330 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

A dense early atmosphere has been invoked to explain the strong greenhouse effect inferred for early Mars. Yet an analysis of the smallest impact craters suggests that the atmospheric pressure on Mars 3.6 billion years ago was surprisingly low.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The tenuous modern atmosphere of Mars seen from low-elevation orbit by NASA's Viking 1 spacecraft.

© NASA

References

  1. Carr, M. H. Water on Mars (Oxford Univ. Press, 1996).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Pollack, J. B., Kasting, J. F., Richardson, S. M. & Poliakoff, K. Icarus 71, 203–224 (1987).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Kite, E. S., Williams, J-P., Lucas, A. & Aharonson, O. Nature Geosci. 7, 335–339 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Kite, E. S., Lucas A. & Fassett, C. I. Icarus 225, 850–855 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Gough, D. O. Solar Phys. 74, 21–34 (1981).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Haberle, R. M. J. Geophys. Res. 103, 28467–28479 (1998).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Laskar, J. et al. Icarus 170, 343–364 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Bowen, B. B., Benison, K. C. & Story, S. in Sedimentary Geology of Mars (eds Grotzinger, J. P. & Milliken, R. E.) 229–252 (SEPM Special Publication 102, 2012).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Toon, O. B., Segura, T. & Zahnle, K. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 38, 303–322 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Manga, M., Patel, A., Dufek, J. & Kite, E. S. Geophys. Res. Lett. 39, L01202 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Som, S. M., Catling, D. C., Harnmeijer, J. P., Polivka, P. M. & Buick, R. Nature 484, 359–362 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sanjoy M. Som is at the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Exobiology Branch and the Flight Systems Implementation Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California 94035, USA,

    Sanjoy M. Som

Authors
  1. Sanjoy M. Som
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sanjoy M. Som.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Som, S. Into thin martian air. Nature Geosci 7, 329–330 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2145

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2145

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing