Tag Archives: atmosphere

Devilry in the air

Posted on September 2, 2011 by rburnham

With all the spacecraft orbiting Mars, it’s slightly surprising that there aren’t more observations of dust devils shared by two or more instruments. Writing in the September 2011 issue of Icarus, a team of scientists led by Dennis Reiss (Westfälische … Continue reading →

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South polar CO2 ice could double Mars’ atmosphere

Posted on July 28, 2011 by rburnham

Results from the Shallow Radar (SHARAD) instrument on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter show that the south polar layered deposits on Mars hold about 30 times as much carbon dioxide ice as previously known. If this CO2 were released into the … Continue reading →

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About that methane….

Posted on May 17, 2011 by rburnham

Methane is a greenhouse gas that on Earth most often has a biological origin, although it can also come from volcanic activity. Because of the biological implications – and because any Martian methane will be destroyed by oxygen in the … Continue reading →

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