Olivine alteration and the loss of Mars’ early atmospheric carbon | Science Advances

The early Martian atmosphere had 0.25 to 4 bar of CO ₂ but thinned rapidly around 3.5 billion years ago. The fate of that carbon remains poorly constrained. The hydrothermal alteration of ultramafic rocks, rich in Fe(II) and Mg, forms both abiotic methane, serpentine, and high-surface-area smectite clays. Given the abundance of ultramafic rocks and smectite in the Martian upper crust and the growing evidence of organic carbon in Martian sedimentary rocks, we quantify the effects of ultramafic alteration on the carbon cycle of early Mars. We calculate the capacity of Noachian-age clays to store organic carbon. Up to 1.7 bar of CO ₂ can plausibly be adsorbed on clay surfaces. Coupling abiotic methanogenesis with best estimates of Mars’ δ ¹³ C history predicts a reservoir of 0.6 to 1.3 bar of CO ₂ equivalent. Such a reservoir could be used as an energy source for long-term missions. Our results further illustrate the control of water-rock reactions on the atmospheric evolution of planets.