OK, so can we agree that Mars has been dead for 3.8 Ga?

Space/Science » in reply to Phylosillicates on mars

nick hoffman — 7/17/2008 2:25:49 PM (archived)

Almost everywhere...

Except in the deep subsurface.

Do you know how long 3.8 Ga is?

The oldest fossil-like traces on Earth (banded iron formations and cherts with possible filamentous algae imprints) are 2.8 to 3 Ga. Only fragmentary crystals survive from 3.8 Ga...

The whole thread (13 posts)

Phylosillicates on mars - marsbug - 7/17/2008 1:19:32 PM
- OK, so can we agree that Mars has been dead for 3.8 Ga? - nick hoffman - 7/17/2008 2:25:49 PM
  - Evidence for life on earth more than 3.8b years ago - pwokenyaw - 7/19/2008 3:37:12 AM
    - re: Evidence for life on earth more than 3.8b years ago - marsbug - 7/19/2008 5:11:56 PM
  - re: OK, so can we agree that Mars has been dead for 3.8 Ga? - marsbug - 7/18/2008 1:17:09 PM
    - Yes... - marsbug - 7/18/2008 1:25:23 PM
      - Agreed, still sporadic volcanism and many small flows - nick hoffman - 7/19/2008 5:14:10 AM
  - Even in the Noachian, mostly dry - dtb - 7/18/2008 2:20:48 AM
    - This was one of the points I raised in my "ephemeral atmospheres" work - nick hoffman - 7/19/2008 4:33:44 AM
    - Gullies mostly dry too (other Howard talk) - dtb - 7/18/2008 2:30:06 AM
  - Wouldn't fossiles last a lot longer on a "dead" world, though? (n/t) - alcaray - 7/17/2008 9:17:15 PM
    - Probably - dtb - 7/18/2008 1:46:14 PM
  - Geologically recent sulfate deposits in Mars north polar regions. - Robert Clark - 7/17/2008 3:26:23 PM

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