Lifetime of CO2 in Mars atmosphere

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around estimating the lifetime of CO2 in the Martian atmosphere, focusing on the factors influencing atmospheric retention and loss of carbon dioxide.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are questioning the clarity of the original problem statement, particularly regarding what is meant by "lifetime" of CO2. Some are considering whether it refers to the time until CO2 concentration reaches 0% or the average time a molecule remains before escaping.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants exploring different interpretations of the problem. Some have suggested considering the decay of CO2 in terms of a time constant, indicating a potential direction for analysis without reaching a consensus.

Contextual Notes

There is a lack of specific information regarding the parameters needed for the estimation, such as escape speeds and temperature effects, which are being discussed but not resolved.

frozenguy
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Homework Statement


Estimate the lifetime of CO2 in the atmosphere of Mars.


Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution


What is he asking? How long has the CO2 been in the atmosphere? It just seems rather vague.
 
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Mars is losing its atmosphere. Heavier molecules last longer than lighter ones. Think about temperatures, kinetic energy distributions, escape speeds,...
 
So is he asking to estimate how long until there is about 0% CO2 in the atmosphere? Or an average time before a molecule escapes?
 
frozenguy said:
So is he asking to estimate how long until there is about 0% CO2 in the atmosphere? Or an average time before a molecule escapes?

At a guess I'd say estimate a time constant for the decay (##~e^{-t/\tau}~##) and call ##\approx 5\tau## the lifetime.
 

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