瑞士伯尔尼大学Valantinas, A.的课题组及其成员在研究火星塔尔西斯火山时，发现了短暂晨霜沉积的证据。该项研究成果发表在2024年6月10日出版的《自然—地球科学》上。
据研究人员介绍，目前火星上的水循环对人类的可居住性和未来人类的探索都有影响。研究人员在塔尔西斯火成岩省上空探测到了水冰云和水蒸气，这表明在风化层和大气之间有活跃的水交换。
研究使用欧洲航天局示踪气体轨道飞行器上的彩色和立体表面成像系统提供的高分辨率彩色图像，以提供塔尔西斯火山破火山口上有大量短暂的晨霜沉积的观测证据。在火星较冷的季节，短暂的蓝色沉积物会在早晨出现在破火山口的底部和边缘，但到下午就不存在了。
光谱观测以及欧洲航天局火星快车轨道飞行器的独立图像提供了水霜的存在证据。气候模型模拟进一步表明，在破火山口的高海拔处，清晨的地表温度足够低以支持每天的水（而不是CO2）凝结成霜。鉴于火山气体的释放不太可能具有季节性，研究人员认为观测到的霜冻来源于大气，这意味着小气候在局部霜冻形成中的作用以及对更广泛的火星水循环的贡献。
附：英文原文
Title: Evidence for transient morning water frost deposits on the Tharsis volcanoes of Mars
Author: Valantinas, A., Thomas, N., Pommerol, A., Karatekin, O., Ruiz Lozano, L., Senel, C. B., Temel, O., Hauber, E., Tirsch, D., Bickel, V. T., Munaretto, G., Pajola, M., Oliva, F., Schmidt, F., Thomas, I., McEwen, A. S., Almeida, M., Read, M., Rangarajan, V. G., El-Maarry, M. R., Re, C., Carrozzo, F. G., DAversa, E., Daerden, F., Ristic, B., Patel, M. R., Bellucci, G., Lopez-Moreno, J. J., Vandaele, A. C., Cremonese, G.
Issue&Volume: 2024-06-10
Abstract: The present-day water cycle on Mars has implications for habitability and future human exploration. Water ice clouds and water vapour have been detected above the Tharsis volcanic province, suggesting the active exchange of water between regolith and atmosphere. Here we report observational evidence for extensive transient morning frost deposits on the calderas of the Tharsis volcanoes (Olympus, Arsia and Ascraeus Montes, and Ceraunius Tholus) using high-resolution colour images from the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System on board the European Space Agency’s Trace Gas Orbiter. The transient bluish deposits appear on the caldera floor and rim in the morning during the colder Martian seasons but are not present by afternoon. The presence of water frost is supported by spectral observations, as well as independent imagery from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter. Climate model simulations further suggest that early-morning surface temperatures at the high altitudes of the volcano calderas are sufficiently low to support the daily condensation of water—but not CO2—frost. Given the unlikely seasonal nature of volcanic outgassing, we suggest the observed frost is atmospheric in origin, implying the role of microclimate in local frost formation and a contribution to the broader Mars water cycle.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-024-01457-7
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-024-01457-7