Martian magmas contained abundant chlorine, but little water

Research Article| December 01, 2009 Martian magmas contained abundant chlorine, but little water Justin Filiberto; Justin Filiberto 1Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, 3600 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, Texas 77058, USA *Current address: Rice University, Department of Earth Science, MS-126, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005; E-mail: Justin.Filiberto@rice.edu. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Allan H. Treiman Allan H. Treiman 1Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, 3600 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, Texas 77058, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Justin Filiberto *Current address: Rice University, Department of Earth Science, MS-126, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX 77005; E-mail: Justin.Filiberto@rice.edu. 1Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, 3600 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, Texas 77058, USA Allan H. Treiman 1Lunar and Planetary Institute, Universities Space Research Association, 3600 Bay Area Blvd, Houston, Texas 77058, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 24 Jun 2009 Revision Received: 07 Jul 2009 Accepted: 08 Jul 2009 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2009 Geological Society of America Geology (2009) 37 (12): 1087–1090. https://doi.org/10.1130/G30488A.1 Article history Received: 24 Jun 2009 Revision Received: 07 Jul 2009 Accepted: 08 Jul 2009 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Justin Filiberto, Allan H. Treiman; Martian magmas contained abundant chlorine, but little water. Geology 2009;; 37 (12): 1087–1090. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G30488A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The martian water cycle, a key for the habitability of Mars, largely relies on the abundance of water in martian magmas and their mantle sources, yet martian (SNC: shergottite, nakhlite, and chassigny classes) meteorites contain minimal water. However, some experimental studies have suggested that martian parental magmas contained as much as 2% H2O. Here we integrate mineral-chemical, experimental, and cosmochemical constraints to show that martian magmas contained little water but abundant chlorine. Apatite and amphibole in martian meteorites are chlorine rich and water poor; this constrains the chlorine contents in their parental magmas to >0.3 wt% and water contents to <0.3 wt%. Our experimental work has shown that large amounts of water are not needed to explain the mineralogy of the martian meteorites because chlorine has effects similar to those of water on crystallization. Such chlorine-rich, water-poor martian magmas are consistent with Mars being chlorine rich (~2.5 ×) compared with the Earth. Furthermore, the bulk Cl composition of martian meteorites shows that they have not preferentially lost Cl by degassing of an H2O-rich vapor. Together, these results show that chlorine, not water, was the dominant volatile species in martian basalts, and that these basalts contributed little H2O to Mars' surface environment. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.