PIA05676: Bromine and Chlorine Go Separate Ways


Bromine and Chlorine Go Separate Ways

Caption:

This graph shows the relative concentrations of bromine and chlorine atvarious locations on Earth and Mars. Typically, bromine and chlorinestick together in a fixed ratio, as in martian meteorites and Earthseawater. But sometimes the elements split apart and their relativequantities diverge. This separation is usually caused by evaporationprocesses, as in the Dead Sea on Earth. On Mars, at Meridiani Planumand Gusev Crater, this split has been observed to an even greaterdegree than seen on Earth. This puzzling result is currently beingfurther explored by Mars Exploration Rover scientists. Data for theMars locations were taken by the rover's alpha particle X-rayspectrometer.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER) Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)
Instrument Host Spirit (MER-A) Curiosity Rover
Host Type Rover
Instrument Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS)
Detector
Extra Keywords Color, Crater, Water
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-04-01
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Cornell/Max Planck Institute
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05676
Identifier PIA05676