Water in the upper martian surface at mid- and low-latitudes: presence, state, and consequences

Abstract

Sublimation of water ice is more effective than evaporation of spoprtion water at the same temperature. Therefore, water in the form of ice, must, over geological time-scales, have left in the upper martian surface (m-scale) at mid- and low-latitudes, leaving sorption water as a possible physical form of unstable subsurface water. Adsorption water is "liquid-like" at these temperatures (in the sense of a 2D-liquid). This property is the reason for the specific importance of physioabsorbed water under martian conditions. It is shown that unfrozen adsorption water can cause numerous physical, chemical, and possible also biological processes in the upper martian surface and may be responsible for a number of its properties.