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Keeping Mars warm with new super greenhouse gases
M F Gerstell1, J S Francisco, Y L Yung
1Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, MS 150-21, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Abstract:
Our selection of new super greenhouse gases to fill a putative "window" in a future Martian atmosphere relies on quantum-mechanical calculations. Our study indicates that if Mars could somehow acquire an Earth-like atmospheric composition and surface pressure, then an Earth-like temperature could be sustained by a mixture of five to seven fluorine compounds. Martian mining requirements for replenishing the fluorine could be comparable to current terrestrial extraction.