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Fate of water on Mars: New Science paper discovers drying of Mars caused by hydration of the crust

Tuesday, March 16, 10:00 a.m. CDT (11:00 a.m. EDT, GMT -5)

Lead authors and the lead scientist of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program come together to discuss the findings of a new Science paper that investigates the loss of water on Mars with data from multiple recent missions. While prior studies have emphasized the role of escape of the atmosphere to space, this study finds that hydrated minerals in the Martian crust were a major mechanism for loss of liquid water on Mars, sequestering ocean-scale volumes of water, thereby causing global aridification over geological time.

Panelists:

• Eva L. Scheller – Ph.D. Candidate, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology
• Bethany L. Ehlmann – Professor, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology
• Renyu Hu – Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
• Michael Meyer – Lead scientist for NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, NASA