Water distribution in Martian permafrost regions from joint analysis of HEND (Mars Odyssey) and MOLA (Mars Global Surveyor) data

We jointly analyze data from the High-Energy Neutron Detector (HEND) onboard the NASA Mars Odyssey spacecraft and data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft. The former instrument measures the content of hydrogen (in the form of H₂O or OH) in the subsurface layer of soil and the latter instrument measures the surface albedo with respect to the flux of solar energy. We have checked the presence of a correlation between these two data sets in various Martian latitude bands. A significant correlation has been found between these data at latitudes poleward of 40° in the northern hemisphere and at latitudes 40°–60° in the southern hemisphere. This correlation is interpreted as evidence for the presence of stable water ice in these regions under a dry layer of soil whose thickness is determined by the condition for equilibrium between the condensation of water from the atmosphere and its sublimation when heated by solar radiation. For these regions, we have derived an empirical relation between the flux of absorbed solar radiation and the thickness of the top dry layer. It allows the burial depth of the water ice table to be predicted with a sub-kilometer resolution based on near-infrared albedo measurements. We have found no correlation in the southern hemisphere at latitudes >60°, although neutron data also suggest that water ice is present in this region under a layer of dry soil. We conclude that the thickness of the dry layer in this region does not correspond to the equilibrium condition between the water ice table and the atmosphere.     

A simple test of the external shock model for the prompt emission in gamma-ray bursts

It is demonstrated here that if the prompt GRB emission is produced by the simplest version of the external shock model, a specific relation should prevail between the observed duration, isotropic equivalent energy, and photon peak energy. In essence, this relation arises because both the burst duration and the typical energy of the emitted synchrotron photons depend on the same combination of the, usually poorly constrained, external density at the deceleration radius, n_dec, and initial bulk Lorentz factor, Γ₀. This has the fortunate consequence of making the relation independent of both Γ₀ and n_dec. Unless the efficiency of electron acceleration is very low, synchrotron gamma-rays from the external shock would fail to meet the current observational constraints for the vast majority of GRBs, including those with a smooth, single peak temporal profile. This argues either against an external shock origin for the prompt emission in GRBs or for changes in our understanding of the microphysical and radiation processes occurring within the shocked region.     

A new extraction technique for in situ analyses of amino and carboxylic acids on Mars by gas chromatography mass spectrometry

In order to target key organic compounds in the Martian regolith using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS), we have developed a new extraction procedure coupled with chemical derivatization. This new technique was tested on a Mars analog soil sample collected from the Atacama Desert in Chile. We found that amino and carboxylic acids can be extracted from the Atacama soil in a 1:1 mixture of isopropanol and water after ultrasonic treatment for 30 min. The extracted organic compounds were then derivatized in a single-step reaction using N-methyl-N-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) as the silylating agent in order to transform these compounds into volatile species that can then be detected by GC-MS. We are currently developing a miniaturized reaction cell suited for spaceflight, where both organic extraction and chemical derivatization processes can take place in a single step.