Taking the pulse of Mars via dating of a plume-fed volcano

被引：63

作者：

Cohen, Benjamin E. ^{[1
,2
]}

Mark, Darren F. ^{[1
,3
]}

Cassata, William S. ^{[4
]}

Lee, Martin R. ^{[2
]}

Tomkinson, Tim ^{[1
]}

Smith, Caroline L. ^{[5
]}

机构：

[1] Scottish Univ Environm Res Ctr, Isotope Geosci Unit, Rankine Ave, E Kilbride G75 0QF, Lanark, Scotland

[2] Univ Glasgow, Sch Geog & Earth Sci, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Lanark, Scotland

[3] Univ St Andrews, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, St Andrews KY16 9AJ, Fife, Scotland

[4] Lawrence Livermore Natl Lab, Nucl & Chem Sci Div, 7000 East Ave,L-231, Livermore, CA 94550 USA

[5] Nat Hist Museum, Dept Earth Sci, London SW7 5BD, England

来源：

NATURE COMMUNICATIONS | 2017年 / 8卷

基金：

英国科学技术设施理事会;

关键词：

MARTIAN SHERGOTTITES; ISOTOPIC COMPOSITION; NOBLE-GASES; NAKHLITE; AGES; CONVECTION; METEORITES; ATMOSPHERE; COMPONENTS; EVOLUTION;

D O I：

10.1038/s41467-017-00513-8

中图分类号：

O [数理科学和化学]; P [天文学、地球科学]; Q [生物科学]; N [自然科学总论];

学科分类号：

07 ; 0710 ; 09 ;

摘要：

Mars hosts the solar system's largest volcanoes. Although their size and impact crater density indicate continued activity over billions of years, their formation rates are poorly understood. Here we quantify the growth rate of a Martian volcano by 40Ar/39Ar and cosmogenic exposure dating of six nakhlites, meteorites that were ejected from Mars by a single impact event at 10.7 +/- 0.8 Ma (2 sigma). We find that the nakhlites sample a layered volcanic sequence with at least four discrete eruptive events spanning 93 +/- 12 Ma (1416 +/- 7Ma to 1322 +/- 10 Ma (2 sigma)). A non-radiogenic trapped 40Ar/Ar-36 value of 1511 +/- 74 (2 sigma) provides a precise and robust constraint for the mid-Amazonian Martian atmosphere. Our data show that the nakhlite-source volcano grew at a rate of ca. 0.4-0.7 m Ma(-1)-three orders of magnitude slower than comparable volcanoes on Earth, and necessitating that Mars was far more volcanically active earlier in its history.

引用

页数：9