Zusammenfassung
The stability of water ice, epsomite, and hexahydrite to loss of H2O
molecules to the atmosphere at equatorial latitudes of Mars was studied
to determine their potential contributions to the measured abundance
of water-equivalent hydrogen (WEH). Calculation of the relative humidity
based on estimates of yearly averages of water-vapor pressures and
temperatures at the Martian surface was used for this purpose. Water
ice was found to be sufficiently unstable everywhere within 45degrees
of the equator that if the observed WEH is due to water ice, it requires
a low-permeability cover layer near the surface to isolate the water
ice below from the atmosphere above. In contrast, epsomite or hexahydrite
may be stable in many near-equatorial locations where significant
amounts of WEH are observed.
Nutzer