Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Mars' sedimentary rock record documents past surface and/or near‐surface liquid water. However, paleoclimate models struggle to explain conditions warm enough for past liquid water. One hypothesis is transient warming by ‐ collision‐induced absorption (CIA) (‐ CIA). This model predicts 5–100 warm climate events, each lasting 100 kyr, however, current constraints on sedimentary rock accumulation timescales are too coarse to test these predictions. We refine depositional timescales at Meridiani Planum and Gale crater using chronology from syndepositional craters, which form from impacts during deposition. We estimate the deposition timespan of Meridiani Planum to range from 114 to 170 Myrs (with uncertainties ranging from 30 to 800 Myrs), compared to previous estimates of 300 Myrs. The distribution of craters within stratigraphy indicate that 4–12 warming episodes occurred. These results are consistent with ‐ CIA and in combination with estimated accumulation rates highlight that sedimentary‐rock‐forming episodes were brief, sporadic, and punctuated by long periods of non‐deposition.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/2025gl116530
Authors: M. L. Turner, E. S. Kite
Institution: University of Chicago
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,190
Funder: Planetary Science Division
Award: G2188327346
OpenAlex ID: W7128955578