What role is liquid water believed to have played during Mars's ancient epoch regarding iron oxidation?
Answer
Crucial ingredient interacting with iron-rich rocks
The most straightforward explanation for the massive scale of iron oxidation observed on Mars invokes the presence of liquid water billions of years ago when the planet was hypothesized to be warmer and wetter with a thicker atmosphere. Liquid water is essential for the standard terrestrial oxidation process where iron corrodes. During this early epoch, as liquid water interacted directly with the abundant iron-rich rocks, the iron would have leached out and oxidized rapidly. This large-scale, early rusting event likely established the bulk of the iron oxide minerals that form the current Martian regolith.
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