Mars low-latitude neutron distribution: Possible remnant near-surface water ice and a mechanism for its recent emplacement

The Mars Odyssey Gamma-Ray Spectrometer/Neutron Spectrometer/High Energy Neutron Detector has provided measurements of near-surface hydrogen, generally interpreted as resulting from water, in the equatorial and mid-latitudes. Water abundances as great as 10% by mass are inferred. Although such high abundances could be present as adsorbed water in clays or water of hydration of magnesium salts, other measurements suggest that this is not likely. The spatial pattern of where the water is located is not consistent with a dependence on composition, topography, present-day atmospheric water abundance, latitude, or thermophysical properties. The zonal distribution of water shows two maxima and two minima, which is very reminiscent of a distribution that is related to an atmospheric phenomenon. We suggest that the high water abundances could be due to transient ground ice that is present in the top meter of the surface. Ice would be stable at tens-of-centimeters depth at these latitudes if the atmospheric water abundance were more than about several times the present value, much as ice is stable poleward of about ±60° latitude for current water abundances. Higher atmospheric water abundances could have resulted relatively recently, even with the present orbital elements, if the south-polar cap had lost its annual covering of CO₂ ice; this would have exposed an underlying water-ice cap that could supply water to the atmosphere during southern summer. If this hypothesis is correct, then (i) the low-latitude water ice is unstable today and is in the process of sublimating and diffusing back into the atmosphere, and (ii) the current configuration of perennial CO₂ ice being present on the south cap but not on the north cap might not be representative of the present epoch over the last, say, ten thousand years.     

The use of neutrons and monochromatic X-rays for non-destructive testing in geological materials

In the paper we present our results for element sensitive high-energy X-ray tomography and high-speed thermal neutron tomography applied to geological samples. The tuneable monochromatic X-ray beam was used for element sensitive tomography of geological samples containing heavy elements using the K-edge dichromatic scanning technique. This type of NDT (non-destructive testing) allowed us to reveal the quantity and location of uranium, lead and mercury in Oklo samples (natural nuclear reactor) and Cinnabar stones. Fast 3-D thermal neutron imaging of dynamical processes was successfully tested at the high flux neutron tomography station of the ILL. The qualitative investigation of water repellents and consolidants applied on sandstones of Bray and limestones of Maastricht were the first samples to be studied with the new imaging technique.