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Quiz 7 - Sarah Miller
Our Solar System (ESCI 420)
University of New Hampshire
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We are going to look at a simple, graphical interface demo model of Mars called Planet Designer: Retro Planet Red (Links to an external site.). This all got rolled into a larger app called Project SPECTRA! (Links to an external site.) last May with more interactive tools, but we are only interested in the Retro one right now. You'll need to download the app for either mac or windows, depending on your system, because Flash is no longer supported to do this directly in a browser (which used to be awesome). It may download as a zip, and then just open that (mac experience). If your mac doesn't trust this download and you don't feel like messing with your permissions, you can also get it from the apple App Store. It says it's for iPad, but it also works on a mac desktop - you can open directly from the App Store. For Windows, you may need to look for an .exe file to open, but maybe not. Email sab86@unh if you run into trouble with this.
To start, pick the 'High School' version for this quick, fun exercise. Step through the module, watching/reading through the content as you go. When you reach the 'Makeover' screen, adjust the available atmospheric parameters to answer the questions. First: start with the 'Today's Sun' scenario. Make sure 'Atmospheric Thickness' and 'Greenhouse Strength' levels are at values corresponding to 'Mars Today'. After you answer the questions, play around a little with some extreme settings to get an idea of the possible here. Or start out doing that, and then step through the questions.
Submit responses to the following three questions, starting with:
1. What is the current atmospheric pressure on Mars?
0 bar 0 bar 0 bar 1 bar
2. What is the average surface temperature on Mars in degrees C currently? (Note that you
are given values in K, so convert to degrees C; 0 degrees C = 273 K.) -214 deg C -51 deg C 6 deg C 60 deg C
3. What form(s) does water take on Mars currently?
Note: sometimes you may have to enter the changes on the sliders and then click 'Back' and then 'Next' to refresh the surface and stable phase descriptions. When this happens, it will default to 'Today's Sun' so that will need to be changed if the questions (later) are asking about a 'Faint young Sun' scenario. No water is present in any form/state of matter. Frozen under the surface and at the poles; a small bit of water vapor in the atmosphere Surface still mainly frozen but more water vapor is present in the atmosphere Liquid water is stable on the surface during warm seasons with water vapor present in the atmosphere Water flows continuously on the surface and is clearly present in the atmosphere
4. Next: switch to the 'Faint Young Sun' scenario of the Retro Red Planet simulation. Give
Mars an atmospheric thickness 3/4 that of our current Earth (pay attention to the number
scale, not the distance on the slider, to determine what that value should be - within 0. is fine) AND a 'Strong' greenhouse gas strength (use the maximum strength allowed under these conditions).
Answer the following three questions, starting with:
What is the atmospheric pressure on Mars under this scenario?
(Note: we're using tildas here because in some cases the slider only allows a value near one of interest rather than exactly at a desired value.) ~0 bar ~0 bar ~0 bar ~1 bars
5. What is the average surface temperature on Mars in degrees C for this Faint Young Sun
and somewhat thicker Martian atmosphere scenario (as detailed in the previous question)? -73 deg C -34 deg C 73 deg C 239 deg C
6. What form(s) does water take on Mars under these hypothetical 'Faint Young Sun'
conditions of Question 4?
* Optional: play around with other conditions for fun - see how warm you can make Mars and what water could be supported then! No water present in any form/state of matter Frozen under the surface and at the poles; a small bit of water vapor in the atmosphere Surface still mainly frozen but more water vapor is present in the atmosphere Liquid water is stable on the surface during warm seasons with water vapor present in the atmosphere Water flows continuously on the surface and is clearly present in the atmosphere
7. Results from the MAVEN mission indicate the Martian atmosphere has evolved
considerably over time. Read a brief article about these findings and view a related NASA video linked here (Links to an external site.) to answer the following question:
What processes have been most important in changing the Martian atmosphere to its current state? Recombination of ions into stable gas molecules around the planet Sputtering by solar wind/radiation that strips the Martian atmosphere Off-gassing of CO2 to form a thick atmosphere Loss of atmospheric CO2 and H2O by reaction with surface minerals and subsequent burial due to sedimentary deposition
8. Which of the following processes is not associated with processes of planetary
differentiation? crust formation core formation volcanism
The wobble in Mars's rotation, implying there is liquid water under an iced-over surface Branching channels in the shape of riverbeds
16 what way are the atmospheres of Mars and Venus similar to each other?
Group of answer choices temperature pressure chemical composition density
17 are daily temperature variations on Mars much larger than we experience on Earth?
Group of answer choices Mars's atmosphere is too thin to insulate the surface. Mars has smaller internal heat sources than the Earth. Mars is much darker than the Earth, so it absorbs more sunlight. Mars spins slowly, so its nights are very long.
18 Mars's two moons, Phobos and Deimos, were to orbit around the Sun instead of around
Mars, they would be most like: Group of answer choices planets dwarf planets asteroids comets
19 presence of which types of rocks/minerals on the surface of Mars might suggest
water was once present? Group of answer choices basalt hydroxides, clays, carbonates olivine, clinopyroxene anorthosite, granite, quartz
Quiz 7 - Sarah Miller
Course: Our Solar System (ESCI 420)
University: University of New Hampshire
