Magmatic water in the martian meteorite Nakhla

Mars does not recycle crustal materials via plate tectonics. For this reason the magmatic water reservoir of the martian mantle has not been affected by surface processes, and the deuterium/hydrogen (D/H) ratio of this water should represent the original primordial martian value. Following this logic, hydrous primary igneous minerals on the martian surface should also carry this primordial D/H ratio, assuming no assimilation of martian atmospheric water during crystallization and no major hydrogen fractionation during melt degassing. Hydrous primary igneous minerals, such as apatite and amphibole, are present in martian meteorites here on Earth. Providing these minerals have not been affected by terrestrial weathering, martian atmospheric water, or shock processes after crystallization, they should contain a good approximation of the primordial martian D/H ratio. As Nakhla was seen to fall in the Egyptian desert in 1911, terrestrial contamination is minimized in this meteorite. The nakhlites are also among the least shocked of the martian meteorites. Therefore, apatite within Nakhla could contain primordial martian hydrogen isotope ratios. We produced in-situ measurements of the D/H ratios in Nakhla apatite grains, using a Cameca ims 1280 ion-microprobe. Our measurements produced D/H values in Nakhla apatite similar to terrestrial values, despite strong evidence that our samples were not significantly contaminated by terrestrial hydrogen. These results suggest that water trapped in the martian mantle has a similar D/H to that of the Earth. Therefore, the water of these two planets may have originated from the same source material. The D/H ratios of the carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, and the Jupiter-family comet 103P/Hartley 2, are similar to the D/H of the two planets, making both these primitive inner solar system materials strong candidates for the source of the terrestrial planets water. These results support recent dynamical models of the formation of the solar system, which suggest material in the inner solar system was homogenized by the migration of Jupiter. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.