M. A. Bullock

Publications (8)6.41 Total impact

• Article: Mars-Analog Evaporite Experiment: Initial Results

  J. M. Moore, M. A. Bullock, T.G. Sharp, R. Quinn
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: This research is part of a multiyear experimental investigation to understand the nature and evolution brines and evaporates on Mars. The spectacular discoveries of the MER rovers, particularly those of Opportunity at Meridiani, both illustrate the relevance, as well as guide the future direction, of this work. Here we report the initial results from our just-completed and tested evaporites apparatus, using a synthetic brine analog to our brine experiment simulating a modern Mars environment in which the brine was subjected to rapid evaporation under modern Martian conditions. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.
  02/2005;
• Article: Aqueous Alteration of Basaltic Glass Under a Simulated Mars Atmosphere

  M. A. Bullock, J. M. Moore
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: For the past several years we have been performing experiments designed to produce brines under Mars-simulated conditions. Previously, we had generated and analyzed Mars-analog brines by allowing a mixture of minerals derived from SNC mineralogy to soak in pure water under a synthetic current-Mars atmosphere and under a gas similar to the present Mars atmosphere but with added acidic gases. The latest version of these experiments incubates basaltic glass, obtained from recent Kilauea flows (Mother's Day flow in December 2002), in pure water under a present-day Mars analog atmosphere at 25 C. This abstract and our presentation will discuss the composition of these Mars-analog brines and implications for Mars surface chemistry.
  02/2005;
• Article: Composition of Simulated Martian Brines and Implications for the Origin of Martian Salts

  M. A. Bullock, J. M. Moore, M. T. Mellon
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: We report on laboratory experiments that have produced dilute brines under controlled conditions meant to simulate past and present Mars. We allowed an SNC-derived mineral mix to react with pure water under a simulated present-Mars atmosphere for seven months. We then subjected the same mineral mix to a similar aqueous environment for one year, but with a simulated Mars atmosphere that contained the added gases SO2, HCl and NO2. The addition of acidic gases was designed to mimic the effects of volcanic gases that may have been present in the martian atmosphere during periods of increased volcanic activity. The experiments were performed at one bar and at two different temperatures in order to simulate subsurface conditions where liquid water and rock are likely to interact on Mars. The dominant cations dissolved in the solutions we produced were Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Al(3+) and Na(+), while the major anions are dissolved C, F(-), SO4(2-) and Cl(-). Typical solution pH was 4.2 to 6.0 for experiments run with a Mars analog atmosphere, and 3.6-5.0 for experiments with acidic gases added. Abundance patterns of elements in the synthetic sulfate-chloride brines produced under acidic conditions were distinctly unlike those of terrestrial ocean water, terrestrial continental waters, and those measured in the martian fines at the Mars Pathfinder and Viking 1 and 2 landing sites. In particular, the S/Cl ratio in these experiments was about 200, compared with an average value of approx. 5 in martian fines. In contrast, abundance patterns of elements in the brines produced under a present day Mars analog atmosphere were quite similar to those measured in the martian fines at the Mars Pathfinder and Viking 1 and 2 landing sites. This suggests that salts present in the martian regolith may have formed over time as a result of the interaction of surface or subsurface liquid water with basalts in the presence of a martian atmosphere similar in composition to that of today, rather than in an atmosphere higher in acidic volatiles.
  02/2004;
• Article: Aqueous Alteration of Mars-Analog Rocks Under an Acidic Atmosphere

  M. A. Bullock, J. M. Moore, M. T. Mellon
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The wind-blown fines of Mars have high amounts of salts that are easily mobilized by water. We report on laboratory experiments that produce brines from the interaction of water with Mars-analog rocks and a simulated acidic Mars paleoatmosphere. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
  02/2001;
• Article: Experimental Studies of Brines and Evaporites as Applied to Mars: Initial Results from 1998-1999 Runs

  J. M. Moore, M. A. Bullock, M. T. Mellon, C. R. Woosley, A. P. Zent
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: We are performing laboratory experiments to determine the concentrations and rates of dissolution of ions that could occur in closed, juvenile groundwater systems on Mars. Our approach is to incubate unaltered Mars-analog minerals in initially pure liquid water in contact with a Mars gas mixture for one year. At exponentially increasing time intervals, aliquots of the solutions at three different temperatures are extracted and analyzed using standard terrestrial laboratory geochemical techniques. Ultimately, our experiments will produce Mars analog brines which will be freeze dried to create evaporites. The physical and chemical properties of these evaporites will be compared with spacecraft remote sensing and in situ compositional and physical data. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
  08/1999;
• Source

  Available from: Carol R Stoker

  Article: Organic degradation under simulated Martian conditions.

  C R Stoker, M A Bullock
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: We report on laboratory experiments which simulate the breakdown of organic compounds under Martian surface conditions. Chambers containing Mars-analog soil mixed with the amino acid glycine were evacuated and filled to 100 mbar pressure with a Martian atmosphere gas mixture and then irradiated with a broad spectrum Xe lamp. Headspace gases were periodically withdrawn and analyzed via gas chromatography for the presence of organic gases expected to be decomposition products of the glycine. The quantum efficiency for the decomposition of glycine by light at wavelengths from 2000 to 2400 angstroms was measured to be 1.46 +/- 1.0 x 10(-6) molecules/photon. Scaled to Mars, this represents an organic destruction rate of 2.24 +/- 1.2 x 10(-4) g of C m-2 yr-1. We compare this degradation rate with the rate that organic compounds are brought to Mars as a result of meteoritic infall to show that organic compounds are destroyed on Mars at rates far exceeding the rate that they are deposited by meteorites. Thus the fact that no organic compounds were found on Mars by the Viking Lander Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer experiment can be explained without invoking the presence of strong oxidants in the surface soils. The organic destruction rate may be considered as an upper bound for the globally averaged biomass production rate of extant organisms at the surface of Mars. This upper bound is comparable to the slow growing cryptoendolithic microbial communities found in dry Antarctica deserts. Finally, comparing these organic destruction rates to recently reported experiments on the stability of carbonate on the surface of Mars, we find that organic compounds may currently be more stable than calcite.
  Journal of Geophysical Research 06/1997; 102(E5):10881-8. · 3.02 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: Carol R Stoker

  Article: A coupled soil-atmosphere model of H2O2 on Mars.

  M A Bullock, C R Stoker, C P McKay, A P Zent
  [show abstract] [hide abstract]
  ABSTRACT: The Viking Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer failed to detect organic compounds on Mars, and both the Viking Labeled Release and the Viking Gas Exchange experiments indicated a reactive soil surface. These results have led to the widespread belief that there are oxidants in the martian soil. Since H2O2 is produced by photochemical processes in the atmosphere of Mars, and has been shown in the laboratory to reproduce closely the Viking LR results, it is a likely candidate for a martian soil oxidant. Here, we report on the results of a coupled soil/atmosphere transport model for H2O2 on Mars. Upon diffusing into the soil, its concentration is determined by the extent to which it is adsorbed and by the rate at which it is catalytically destroyed. An analytical model for calculating the distribution of H2O2 in the martian atmosphere and soil is developed. The concentration of H2O2 in the soil is shown to go to zero at a finite depth, a consequence of the nonlinear soil diffusion equation. The model is parameterized in terms of an unknown quantity, the lifetime of H2O2 against heterogeneous catalytic destruction in the soil. Calculated concentrations are compared with a H2O2 concentration of 30 nmoles/cm3, inferred from the Viking Labeled Release experiment. A significant result of this model is that for a wide range of H2O2 lifetimes (up to 10(5) years), the extinction depth was found to be less than 3 m. The maximum possible concentration in the top 4 cm is calculated to be approximately 240 nmoles/cm3, achieved with lifetimes of greater than 1000 years. Concentrations higher than 30 nmoles/cm3 require lifetimes of greater than 4.3 terrestrial years. For a wide range of H2O2 lifetimes, it was found that the atmospheric concentration is only weakly coupled with soil loss processes. Losses to the soil become significant only when lifetimes are less than a few hours. If there are depths below which H2O2 is not transported, it is plausible that organic compounds, protected from an oxidizing environment, may still exist. They would have been deposited by meteors, or be the organic remains of past life.
  Icarus 02/1994; 107(1):142-54. · 3.38 Impact Factor
• Source

  Available from: articles.adsabs.harvard.edu

  Article: A Coupled Soil/Atmosphere Model for the Transport of H2O2 Through the Martian Environment

  M. A. Bullock, C. R. Stoker, C. P. McKay, A. P. Zent, J. F. Becker
  05/1990; 22:1074.