Mars & Life
Instructor:
Richard Gammon
Office: OSB 409, phone# 221-6175
Teaching Assistant:
Billy Brazelton
Office:MSB 214, phone# 221-5755
Loren Ballanti "Potential for biogenic
methanogenesis"
Zach Adam "C-, N-, and S-derived microbial
metabolites" (references)
Nick Cowan "Atmospheric biomarkers"
(references)
Andrew Opatkiewicz and Samantha
Ewing "Isotope signatures for life on Mars" (references)
Clara Fuchsman "Possibility of life in caves on
Mars"
Eric Hilton "Possibility of past oceans on
Mars" (references)
Jessica Garvin "Possible microbial formation
mechanisms for hematite concretions found at Terra Meridiani"
Sanjoy Som "Evolution of
Tharsis and the formation of Valles
Marineris: Is it really
water?"
Michele Cash "Past and
present magnetism on Mars"
Darci Snowden "Loss of H2O to space and surface of Mars" (references)
Syllabus (REVISED)
Mars References
Week 1 (9/28, 9/30)
Lissauer, J. (1993) Planet Formation. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 31: 129-74.
Levy and Lunine. (1993) Protostars and Planets III. Tucson : University of Arizona Press. (on reserve in
Phys-Astr library ask for call number of book or course number)
Raymond, S. N., Quinn T. and
Lunine J. I. (2004). "Making other earths:
dynamical simulations of terrestrial planet formation and water delivery."
Icarus 168(1): 1-17.
Richardson, D. C., Quinn T.,
Stadel J. and Lake G. (2000). "Direct
large-scale N-body simulations of planetesimal dynamics." Icarus
143(1): 45-59.
for discussion Fri. 9/30:
Armstrong, J. C., Leovy C. B. and
Quinn T. (2004). "A 1 Gyr climate model
for Mars: new orbital statistics and the importance of seasonally resolved
polar processesz." Icarus 171(2): 255-271.
Week 2 (10/3,10/5, 10/7)
Jakosky, B. Mars chapter for AB textbook, preliminary version
Drake, M.J. and Righter, M. (2002). Determining the composition of the Earth. Nature 416 (6876): 39-44 Mar. 7 2002
Two papers for discussion Fri.
10/7:
Cabrol, N.A., E.A. Grin, R.
Landheim, R.O. Kuzmin, and R. Greeley (1998). "Duration of the Madim Vallis/Gusev Crater
hydrogeologic system, Mars." Icarus 133: 98-108.
Haskin, L. A., Wang A., Jolliff B. L., McSween H. Y., Clark B. C., Des Marais D. J., McLennan S. M., Tosca N. J., Hurowitz J. A., Farmer J. D., Yen A., Squyres S. W., Arvidson R. E., Klingelhofer G., Schroder C., de Souza P. A., Ming D. W., Gellert R., Zipfel J., Bruckner J., Bell J. F., Herkenhoff K., Christensen P. R., Ruff S., Blaney D., Gorevan S., Cabrol N. A., Crumpler L., Grant J. and Soderblom L. (2005). "Water alteration of rocks and soils on Mars at the Spirit rover site in Gusev crater." Nature 436(7047): 66-69.
Week 3 (10/10,10/12)
See Mars references By theme, "Martian geology" and "Water on Mars" sections, especially.
Roger Buick's powerpoint presentation: Mars Geology For educational use only; do not
use without permission. Sources within have not been documented.
Roger Buick's handout on Martian meteorites and glossary
Week 4 (10/17,10/19,
10/21)
Montgomery, D.R. and Gillespie, A. (2005) Formation of Martian outflow channels by catastrophic dewatering of evaporite deposits. Geology. 33: 8, 625-628.
Head, J. W., Neukum G., Jaumann
R., Hiesinger H., Hauber E., Carr M., Masson P., Foing B., Hoffmann H.,
Kreslavsky M., Werner S., Milkovich S. and van Gasselt S. (2005). "Tropical to mid-latitude snow and ice accumulation,
flow and glaciation on Mars." Nature 434(7031): 346-351.
Neukum, G., Jaumann R., Hoffmann
H., Hauber E., Head J. W., Basilevsky A. T., Ivanov B. A., Werner S. C., van
Gasselt S., Murray J. B. and McCord T. (2004). "Recent and episodic volcanic and glacial activity on
Mars revealed by the High Resolution Stereo Camera." Nature 432(7020):
971-979.
Two papers for discussion on
Fri. 10/21:
Hauber, E., van Gasselt S., Ivanov
B., Werner S., Head J. W., Neukum G., Jaumann R., Greeley R., Mitchell K. L.
and Muller P. (2005). "Discovery of a flank
caldera and very young glacial activity at Hecates Tholus, Mars."
Nature 434(7031): 356-361.
Murray, J. B., Muller J. P.,
Neukum G., Werner S. C., van Gasselt S., Hauber E., Markiewicz W. J., Head J.
W., Foing B. H., Page D., Mitchell K. L. and Portyankina G. (2005). "Evidence from the Mars Express High Resolution
Stereo Camera for a frozen sea close to Mars' equator." Nature
434(7031): 352-356.
Week 5 (10/24,10/26, 10/28)
Catling, D.C. & Leovy, C.
(submitted) Mars Atmosphere and
Volatile History Encyclopedia of the Solar System.
Leovy, C. (2001). "Weather and climate on Mars." Nature
412(6843): 245-249.
See ConwayÕs
additional references, in response to student questions
Week 6 (10/31, 11/2, 11/4)
Endolithic Microorganisms in the Antarctic Cold Desert E. Imre Friedmann Science, New Series, Vol. 215, No. 4536. (Feb. 26, 1982), pp. 1045-1053.
Nienow, J.A. and Friedmann, E.I.,
1993. Terrestrial lithophytic (rock) communities. In Friedmann, E.I.(ed.):
Antarctic Microbiology,
Wiley Liss, New York, pp. 343-412.
Nienow, J.A. and Friedmann,
E.I., 2002. Endolithic microorganisms in arid
regions. In: Bitton, G.: Encyclopedia of Environmental Microbiology, John Wiley
& Sons, New York, Vol.2, pp.1100-1112.
Rivkina, E.M., Friedmann, E.I., McKay,
C.P. and Gilichinsky, D.A., 2000. Metabolic
activity of permafrost bacteria below the freezing point. Appl. Environm.
Microbiol. 66:3230-3233.
Microscope lab in HCK 343, Wed. 11/2 Ð NOT in classroom
McKay, C. P., Friedmann, E. I.,
Frankel, R. B.,and Bazylinski, D. A.,
2003. Magnetotactic bacteria on Earth and
on Mars. Astrobiology 3:263-270.
Golden, D.C. et al.: Evidence for
exclusively inorganic formation of magnetite in the Martian meteorite ALH84001.2004. American Mineralogist 89: 681-695
Barber, D.J. and Scott, E,R.D.: Origin of supposedly biogenic magnetite in the
Martian meteorite Allan Hills
84001.2002 Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 99:6556-6561
Treiman, A.H.: Submicron magnetite grains and carbon compounds in Martian meteorite ALH 84001: Abiotic formation by shock and thermal metamorphism. 2003. Astrobiology 3:369-392
For discussion on Friday, 11/4 in PAB 356:
Friedmann, E.I., Wierzchos,J., Ascaso,C. and Winklhofer,M., 2001. Chains of magnetite crystals in the meteorite ALH 84001: Evidence of biogenous origin. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. US. 98:2176-2181
ÒDetecting Extinct Life,Ó Section 4 in Signs of Life, National Research Council, 2000
-(Large
PDF file)
Week 7 (11/7, 11/9)
A Traveller's Guide to Mars: The
Mysterious Landscapes of the Red Planet, by William K. Hartmann, Workman
Publishing, 2003.
ISBN: 0761126066
The Smithsonian Book of Mars, by
Joseph M. Boyce, Smithsonian Books, 2003.
ISBN: 1588340740
Magnificent Mars, by Ken Croswell,
Free Press, 2003. ISBN: 0743226011
Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet,
byPaul Raeburn, National Geographic Society, 1998. ISBN: 0792273737
The Case for Mars, by Robert Zubrin, Free Press, 1997. ISBN: 0684835509
Week 8 (11/14, 11/16, 11/18)
Krasnopolsky, V. A., Maillard J. P. and Owen T. C. (2004). "Detection of methane in the martian atmosphere: evidence for life?" Icarus 172(2): 537-547.
Krasnopolsky, V. A. (2005) A sensitive search for SO2 in the
martian atmosphere: implications for seepage and origin of methane. Icarus
Formisano, V. et al. (2004) Detection of methane in the
atmosphere of Mars. Science 306.
Assignment for Friday:
1) To get a sense of scale,
calculate how many "cows equivalent" is the CH4 flux required to
support 10 ppbv of methane on Mars?
2) How can future missions test whether the methane is biological? Discuss the science requirements. Consider surface and orbital instruments.
David CatlingÕs power points slides (as pdf): Lecture 1 and Lecture 2
Oze, C. and Sharma M. (2005). "Have olivine, will gas: Serpentinization and the abiogenic production of methane on Mars." Geophysical Research Letters 32(10).
Varnes, E.S., B.M. Jakosky, and T.M. McCollom (2003). "Biological potential of martian hydrothermal systems." Astrobiology 3: 407-414.
John BarossÕ powerpoint slides
Week 10 (11/28, 11/30,
12/2)
Clifford, S. M., Parker, T. J.
(2001) ÒThe evolution of the Martian Hydrosphere:
implications for the fate of a primordial ocean and the current state of the
Northern Plains.Ó Icarus 154: 40-79.
Deming and Eicken chapter for UW
Astrobiology textbook Ð *for student use only, not to be distributed without
authorsÕ permission
For discussion on Friday, Dec.
2:
Jakosky, B. M., et al. (2003) ÒSubfreezing activit of microorganisms and the potential habitability of MarsÕ polar regions.Ó Astrobiology 3: 343-350.
Junge, K. et al. (2001) ÒA microscopic approach to investigate bacteria under in situ conditions in sea-ice samples.Ó Annals of Glaciology 33: 304-310.
Junge, K. et al. (2004) ÒBacterial activity at Ð2 to Ð20C in Arctic wintertime sea ice.Ó Applied and Environmental Microbiology 70: 550-557.
Gilichinsky, D. et al (2003) ÒSupercooled water brines within permafrost Ð an unknown ecological niche for microorganisms: a model for astrobiology.Ó Astrobiology 3: 331-341.
www.depts.washington.edu/astrobio