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- Arvidson, R. E., et al.
(författare)
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Opportunity Mars Rover mission : Overview and selected results from Purgatory ripple to traverses to Endeavour crater
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research. - Hoboken : Wiley-Blackwell. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 116, s. E00F15-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Opportunity has been traversing the Meridiani plains since 25 January 2004 (sol 1), acquiring numerous observations of the atmosphere, soils, and rocks. This paper provides an overview of key discoveries between sols 511 and 2300, complementing earlier papers covering results from the initial phases of the mission. Key new results include (1) atmospheric argon measurements that demonstrate the importance of atmospheric transport to and from the winter carbon dioxide polar ice caps; (2) observations showing that aeolian ripples covering the plains were generated by easterly winds during an epoch with enhanced Hadley cell circulation; (3) the discovery and characterization of cobbles and boulders that include iron and stony-iron meteorites and Martian impact ejecta; (4) measurements of wall rock strata within Erebus and Victoria craters that provide compelling evidence of formation by aeolian sand deposition, with local reworking within ephemeral lakes; (5) determination that the stratigraphy exposed in the walls of Victoria and Endurance craters show an enrichment of chlorine and depletion of magnesium and sulfur with increasing depth. This result implies that regional-scale aqueous alteration took place before formation of these craters. Most recently, Opportunity has been traversing toward the ancient Endeavour crater. Orbital data show that clay minerals are exposed on its rim. Hydrated sulfate minerals are exposed in plains rocks adjacent to the rim, unlike the surfaces of plains outcrops observed thus far by Opportunity. With continued mechanical health, Opportunity will reach terrains on and around Endeavour's rim that will be markedly different from anything examined to date. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.
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- Dahl, Tais W., et al.
(författare)
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Devonian rise in atmospheric oxygen correlated to the radiations of terrestrial plants and large predatory fish
- 2010
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 107:42, s. 17911-17915
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The evolution of Earth's biota is intimately linked to the oxygenation of the oceans and atmosphere. We use the isotopic composition and concentration of molybdenum (Mo) in sedimentary rocks to explore this relationship. Our results indicate two episodes of global ocean oxygenation. The first coincides with the emergence of the Ediacaran fauna, including large, motile bilaterian animals, ca. 550-560 million year ago (Ma), reinforcing previous geochemical indications that Earth surface oxygenation facilitated this radiation. The second, perhaps larger, oxygenation took place around 400 Ma, well after the initial rise of animals and, therefore, suggesting that early metazoans evolved in a relatively low oxygen environment. This later oxygenation correlates with the diversification of vascular plants, which likely contributed to increased oxygenation through the enhanced burial of organic carbon in sediments. It also correlates with a pronounced radiation of large predatory fish, animals with high oxygen demand. We thereby couple the redox history of the atmosphere and oceans to major events in animal evolution.
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- Dahl, Tais W., et al.
(författare)
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Reply to Butterfield : The Devonian radiation of large predatory fish coincided with elevated athospheric oxygen levels
- 2011
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 108:9, s. E29-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We welcome this opportunity to clarify the conclusions and implications of our recent publication in PNAS. Butterfield (1) raises four issues regarding the oxygenation of the Paleozoic Earth's surface and its correlation to animal evolution. Our geochemical and paleontological data supported ocean oxygenation in the Silurian-Early Devonian (2), a critical transition in Earth history that influenced biogeochemical cycles and biological systems. First, Butterfield suggests that evidence of charcoal in late Silurian rocks is incompatible with our claim that the earlier Paleozoic atmosphere had oxygen levels below 50% PAL (present-day atmospheric level). This counterargument rests on the assumption that the “fire window” of 62–166% PAL oxygen is well defined, but this is not the case (3).
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