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Isotopic Composition of the Martian Atmosphere

Nier, Alfred O. and McElroy, Michael B. and Yung, Yuk Ling (1976) Isotopic Composition of the Martian Atmosphere. Science, 194 (4260). pp. 68-70. ISSN 0036-8075. doi:10.1126/science.194.4260.68. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20140721-141309854

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Abstract

Results from the neutral mass spectrometer carried on the aeroshell of Viking 1 show evidence for NO in the upper atmosphere of Mars and indicate that the isotopic composition of carbon and oxygen is similar to that of Earth. Mars is enriched in ^(15)N relative to Earth by about 75 percent, a consequence of escape that implies an initial abundance of nitrogen equivalent to a partial pressure of at least 2 millibars. The initial abundance of oxygen present either as CO_2 or H_2O must be equivalent to an exchangeable atmospheric pressure of at least 2 bars in order to inhibit escape-related enrichment of ^(18)O.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
URLURL TypeDescription
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1742562JSTORArticle
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.194.4260.68DOIArticle
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/194/4260/68.abstractPublisherArticle
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Yung, Yuk Ling0000-0002-4263-2562
Additional Information:© 1976 American Association for the Advancement of Science. Received 2 September 1976. Work at the University of Minnesota and at Harvard University was supported by NASA under contracts NAS-1-9697 and NAS-1-10492, respectively. A.O.N. is indebted to Ward Johnson for help in making computations.
Funders:
Funding AgencyGrant Number
NASANAS-1-9697
NASANAS-1-10492
Issue or Number:4260
DOI:10.1126/science.194.4260.68
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20140721-141309854
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20140721-141309854
Official Citation:Isotopic Composition of the Martian Atmosphere Alfred O. Nier, Michael B. McElroy and Yuk Ling Yung Science, New Series, Vol. 194, No. 4260 (Oct. 1, 1976), pp. 68-70 Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1742562
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:47371
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
Deposited By: Tony Diaz
Deposited On:21 Jul 2014 21:42
Last Modified:10 Nov 2021 17:38

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