A thermally conductive Martian core and implications for its dynamo cessation.

ABSTRACT: Mars experienced a dynamo process that generated a global magnetic field ~4.3 (or earlier) to 3.6 billion years ago (Ga). The cessation of this dynamo strongly affected Mars' history and is expected to be linked to thermochemical evolution of Mars' iron-rich liquid core, which is strongly influenced by its thermal conductivity. Here, we directly measured thermal conductivities of solid iron-sulfur alloys to pressures relevant to the Martian core and temperatures to 1023 Kelvin. Our results show that a Martian core with 16 weight % sulfur has a thermal conductivity of ~19 to 32 Watt meter^-1 Kelvin^-1 from its top to the center, much higher than previously inferred from electrical resistivity measurements. Our modeled thermal conductivity profile throughout the Martian d

SUBMITTER: Hsieh WP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10954222 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature