Methane bursts as a trigger for intermittent lake-forming climates on post-Noachian Mars
@article{Kite2016MethaneBA, title={Methane bursts as a trigger for intermittent lake-forming climates on post-Noachian Mars}, author={Edwin S. Kite and Peter Gao and Colin Goldblatt and Michael A. Mischna and David P. Mayer and Yuk L. Yung}, journal={Nature Geoscience}, year={2016}, volume={10}, pages={737-740} }
Lakes existed on Mars later than 3.6 billion years ago, according to sedimentary evidence for deltaic deposition. The observed fluvio-lacustrine deposits suggest that individual lake-forming climates persisted for at least several thousand years (assuming dilute flow). But the lake watersheds’ little weathered soils indicate a largely dry climate history, with intermittent runoff events. Here we show that these observational constraints, while inconsistent with many previously-proposed triggers…
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