Europlanet Science Congress 2021
Virtual meeting
13 – 24 September 2021
Europlanet Science Congress 2021
Virtual meeting
13 September – 24 September 2021
KT9
TP keynote talk "Early Mars Climate History: 'Warm and Wet' or 'Cold and Icy'" by Jim Head

KT9

One of the most fundamental questions in planetary science today is the nature of the ambient climate of early Mars (Noachian-Early Hesperian): Was the ambient climate “warm and wet/arid”, as suggested by widespread phyllosilicates, higher erosion rates, enhanced crater degradation, valley networks, and open/closed-basin lakes? Or was the ambient climate “cold and icy”, as suggested by recent climate models, with occasional perturbations causing heating and melting of surface snow and ice, and runoff to produce the observed characteristics and features? Using the framework of these two ambient climate options, we will discuss how NASA Mars Perseverance Rover at Jezero Crater open-basin lake, CNSA Tianwen-1 Zhurong Rover at Utopia Planitia and the 2022 ESA-Roscosmos Rosalind Franklin Rover to Oxia Planum will help to address these issues.

Co-organized by TP
Convener: Maurizio Pajola
Wed, 22 Sep, 17:30–18:00 (CEST)

Session assets