Mars used to be very different from how it is today . block the red gelid desert and ideate flowing piddle and active volcanos . However ,   the satellite ’s retiring climate   is still unclear and   we ’re also not certain about the denseness of its atmosphere .

A clever way to track how much atmospheric state the Red Planet used to have is to look at the floor of O . Mars ' air is mostly carbon dioxide and researchers are interested in the O in these atom . atomic number 8 can be retrieve chiefly in two form , or isotopes , oxygen-16 ( which has eight protons and eight neutrons in its karyon ) and oxygen-18 , which has two special neutron . This is a full tracer bullet for atmospheric exit because oxygen-16 is light and more easily escapes into distance .

But in skill , nothing is very square . Different deputation contemplate the Red Planet have fall upon that the ratio between the two isotope of oxygen is not consistent . But the geological fault is not in the measurements . As reported inIcarus , it ’s the actual atmosphere that is changing .

measuring at high noon local time showed that the ratio between the two forms of oxygen was about 9 percentage depleted   in   heavier isotope . Measurements taken at 1.30pm showed that the gentle wind was enrich by 8 per centum more oxygen-18 than we ’d see in   normal Earth O ratios . This is the first measure to show the variation using only a individual method and it also shows correlativity with surface temperature .

“ Our measurements suggest that the premature work all may have been done right but disagreed because this aspect of the aura is more complex than we had realized , ” pencil lead author Timothy Livengood of the University of Maryland said in astatement . “ Depending where on Mars the measure was made , and what time of day on Mars , it is potential to get unlike values . ”

While the complexness is a barrier to a elaborate estimation of the Martian past tense , it does tell us that there are no unexpected phenomena steal away sure isotope while leaving others behind . The models will have to be complicate but they do n’t have to be overhauled .

“ It present that the atmospheric loss was by process that we more or less empathise , ” summate Livengood . “ vital point remain to be worked out , but it means that we do n’t need to invoke exotic processes that could have resulted in removing CO2without alter the isotope ratios , or alter just some ratios in other element . ”