I have never been comfortable with the notion of airlocks for humans also being used for moving bulk materials. Such airlocks will always have to be kept at high standards of maintenance, and the risk to humans by using them for bulk transfers, would be high. Also the cost would be high.
Tom started it with the water tower notion. I am becoming very comfortable with a notion where a building looking like a lighthouse would be very suitable, as a mass produced device. The top of it being a biological solar collector, with thermal properties as well. A proposed biology based on Spirolina.
I would speculate that the thing might look like a lighthouse with a crystal ball on top of it. I would speculate that since photons will be able to enter the "Crystal Ball" from several directions, perhaps ~12 times as much light as normal could be focused on it. This would be ~6 times normal Earth light.
The body of the "Lighthouse" would be tubular/conical, and could have observation ports in it, those of course below the crystal ball.
The crystal ball might overheat, but lets think about making that a asset. The root of the lighthouse tube/cone extending well underground, a radiator being available, from the ground. Particularly if you embed tubes below the soil in the ground. The heliostats shading the ground, by intercepting light and redirecting it to the crystal ball, the ground temperature as Mars now exists should be quite cold. I would think that you should be able to have at least a differential temperature of 75 degC between the "Crystal Ball" in daytime, and the ground coils. So, a turbine power system, and also a method to cool the water of the crystal ball, allowing even more sunlight to be passed to it with the heliostats.
The heliostats perhaps having some solar cells on them, to run motors and electronics and computers and communications. The motors perhaps even being electrostatic, but that not being a requirement. The heliostats primarily make of plastics, and they being made largely with the Evil 3D printers. The plastics being derived from biofuels for spirolina, or human waste.
So, if what we now think is true, a "Human Mission" should aim for the equator, and establish a starter community which might experiment with variations of the things needed for a northern plains city. That might open Mars to a very large population, about the time that technology might allow a transfer of very large numbers of humans from Earth.
Back on topic now I think. If others want me to quit this, say so.
And Robert. We certainly want vegetables from more normal type greenhouses. Spirolina would only be as a food supplement, emergency food, and for biofuels and Oxygen generation, and eventually to terraform Mars.
]]>I think that rather than radical thermal terraforming, instead, the CO2 should be treated where the Carbon is extracted to create plastics.
If the northern hemisphere is indeed covered with a deep layer of ice and sediments, then virtually that entire hemisphere could be a continuous city, with underground trains for connections.
Ideally, a atmosphere with sufficient Oxygen for breathing, but not that much greenhouse effect. Easy to say. However, an entire northern hemisphere city with spirulina towers could likely produce a lot of plastics and a lot of Oxygen. The northern hemisphere might we warmed enough for some tundra and tiaga in some places. Perhaps at lower latitudes.
As for the southern hemisphere, you could extract melt water from the southern ice cap, and conduct it to open air farms for irrigation, or to produce open air lakes. If those environments were too cold for crops, then you could add heat with orbital mirrors. For instance Hellas might be filled with quite a few lakes from irrigation water, and those lakes might be well lighted with supplementation from orbital mirrors.
A nice diversion from the "Northern Mega City".
I think overheating the planet might actually ruin it's potential to benefit the human race.
]]>The principle should be that energy (solar power) is freely available on Mars so for oxygen extraction and other chemical processes, the emphasis should be on energy use rather than importing complex heavy machinery.
I agree that terraforming is something of a distraction at this point.I also agree not enough work has been done on the potential for ice structures to be used for construction. I have previously speculated that ice might be used to form air lock doors (melt to "open" the door; freeze water - i.e. expose to the Martian environment -to "close" it). Large ice warehouses could be useful. With aerogel linings, perhaps they could be used for human habitation.
Solar then would appear to come in three flavors recognizable now.
1) Solar Photovotaic (Or similar).
2) Solar Thermal.
3) Solar organic.
I have previously focused on ice covered lakes, which could be considered partially 2 & 3. The notion here was there is so much of Mars that is cold and icy like Antarctica, why not adapt to what it is more compatible to do. The plan has some merit, and I do not abaondon it, but have always considered that it must come later, if there were any posibility to inhabit the equator effectively. The limitation on habitation of the equator was a described lack of water there.
So we were left with mining ice, or drilling for aquifers as our methods to obtain water. Those generally would have required heavy machinery. Now, if it is possible that small quantities of water are collectible at certain locations around the equator, it is reasonable to think if a dispersed set of starter comunities at the equator, and from there seqwaying towards either or both drilling for aquifers, and adapting to high lattitude habitations utilizing large quantities of ice and water extensively.
I am begininning to think that in fact a likely situation at the equator is that aquifers that were charged thousands/millions of years ago by snowfalls, and ice deposites, may be gradually evaporating, and in the process, of the vapors traveling to the surface, the vapors condensing into ice pockets near the colder surface. The brines then causing some of it to become visible from orbit. That is a hope anyway.
So, if this is true or not, but somehow such small pockets of water are availible, I certainly have to see the logic of starting at the equator. But I see that as being a very sparse population. Getting ahold of massive water supplies still will be the big prise.
So, I think a megacity is a good idea after the equatorial sparse population is established. I was thinking of finding massive ice as close to the equator as possible. However there is this! Some of the kids out there have done a good thing. I think you just hinted about this.
http://www.cnet.com/news/3d-printable-i … e-on-mars/
http://www.marsicehouse.com/introductio … vd8uoqguge
I was thinking of some nasty underground snail shell spiral chambered city, with ice or water for counter pressure. However the idea in the link, does have greater attractiveness. I would think that with the 3D printing you also could add a small amount of fibers to the ice, say carbon/plastic? something or other. Anyway, I want a megacity for economic efficiency. Given that you could have ice covered lakes, ice houses, and ice tunnels, a city can be contemplated. A massive multipart habitat where the inhabitants will normally not be involved in EVA's on the surface in suits.
Likely they will need Protective gear for construction, and for accessing areas with only partial life support. Example: for working in very cold ice tunnels, you want arctic clothing, and perhaps if the confined space atmosphere is potentially toxic, you want breathing gear.
I see that if you really wanted to generate large amounts of economic activity a city like this would be suitable.
Per the link, happy circumstances could be available for the inhabitants.
Connectivity: Ice tunnels like subways would link the various above ground buildings.
Other tunnels would be continuously expanded to provide make up water, and also to provide emergency survival habitat in the event of some above ground habitat problem. Such a tunnel network would also provide long term storage for food, and fuel, Oxidizer.
Tunnels would also allow for connecting underground mines to this city. While it will be diffacult to expect high grade ores to be present, they might be. And for a relatively convenient situation such as the ice city, lower grade ores might be worked with.
But you stressed solar;
Tom, really started some thoughts in my head, when he suggested landing a water tower on Mars, so that people could take showers
It from previous discussions it did occur to me that you could do so. At the equator and also at the ice city.
So, indeed, build a transparent bubble to grow Spirulina:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirulina … upplement)
Cultivation:
http://www.startupbizhub.com/growing-spirulina.htm
The best places to grow spirulina are old hangar or old buildings of an airport. Other places that provide protection from snow, rain, and wind are also ideal. The main factors in planting spirulina are water, minerals, heat and sunlight.
Certain level of knowledge in spirulina plantation is recommended to gain advantage against other spirulina growers. Once you have planted enough spirulina plants, the next thing to do is to search for clients or buyers. Since spirulina can be used in producing different products, searching for buyers or clients is relatively easy. Spirulina can also be used in producing biodiesel.
In diluted urine:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1361757/
A nice video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfVmsUHJWaw
I guess if you have lots of food and Oxygen you can grow fish. But the settlers can have their choices.
Provide a tower to put your bubble on. On the equator early towers could involve hills, or piles or rocks.
In the ice city, of course your tower can at least partialy be of ice.
In most locations of Mars, without solar concentration efforts, your bubble of water to grow Spirolina will be subject to freezing. So when the sun goes down you will have to consider what to do about that. A larger installation might be fine over a normal night.
Anyway, I am thinking Heliostats. They would make the difference from having a silly attempt to grow Spirolina in a tower, and having a real potential to have economic gain.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliostat
A picture is worth a thousand words:
So, now you have a machine which can heat the water to temperatures the Spirolina best grows in, and you can incease the photon density inside your window bubble. So, you potentially have a massive source of Oxygen, and perhaps biofuels, and of course food.
Further, if you build a power generating system into this you can play further games.
-Your power generation system not boiling water but some fluid with a lower vapor pressure. You heat it is coils inside of your transparent bubble. You then conduct the heated fluids to a power generating machine (Turbine?). And of course you may use typical ambient Martian temperatures to provide the means to condense the fluid.
If done correctly then you can cool the waters inside your transparent bubble, and so may focus even more heliostats on the bubble, therefore increasing the photon density. If you stir the Spriolina, then you can make best use of this photon density, since you would be presenting the organisms to breif intense exposures to photons, and then letting them "Rest" inside the group. Of course there will be a limit of utility for this. Spirolina may like lots of light but would not like too much light. I don't know what the limits would be. However, of course that can be determined.
So Heliostats would lend themselves to mass production. Should they malfunction, an robot could move them into a pressurized garage for servicing.
As for the transparent bubble. I have previously tended to try to use counterpressure measures to interface with the Martian environment. However in this case, I am thinking tensile strengths, probabbly some type of "Plastic", that is not glass, something of a transparent film. I think you know what I mean. Better people than me can effictively figure out what would be best.
By using photon concentration with Heliostats, best economic benefits can be obtained, while minimizing the amount of differential pressure holding window you would have to provide.
Oh, also, of course if you have heated water you can have a method to heat your hab, and also in it's methods provide distilled water.
]]>I agree that terraforming is something of a distraction at this point.
I also agree not enough work has been done on the potential for ice structures to be used for construction. I have previously speculated that ice might be used to form air lock doors (melt to "open" the door; freeze water - i.e. expose to the Martian environment -to "close" it). Large ice warehouses could be useful. With aerogel linings, perhaps they could be used for human habitation.
]]>In the words of the Geology Department researchers, "Our research suggests that, given that the process was regional rather than global, there could still be large reservoirs of subterranean water trapped under the surface of Mars, in the areas around the old northern ocean, or in other parts of the planet where seas and lakes formed at the same time."
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-09-hypothesis … s.html#jCp
So, although the presumed (And maybe) water could be drilled down to perhaps, actually I am interested in deep layers of ice.
I am thinking of building one big building in the ice. However with a manufactured roof, but that could be weighted down with ice ballast or water ballast, but I am thinking that it could be built like a snail shell, where new cells (Chambers) could be added on in a spiral fashion.
How deep? Whatever. But a very large multi-chambered facility, and for make up (Replacement water), new chambers added, where the water ice is mined to make room for the chamber under construction.
The point being a very large facility for a very large population. Of course more of them could be built.
For greenhouse gasses, I am thinking that will be done only as an after thought. They will not have to be very exotic either. But if the residents of Mars have other thoughts, they of course can mine the chemicals you propose, and do an intentional terraforming as the main focus.
I on the other hand think they would be better off making a contained sub-world which can house a large population. Although recycling would be expected, there would be garbage that could be decomposed thermally to generate greenhouse gasses.
If Mars does have a northern hemisphere covered with miles / km of ice/sediments, I think the inhabitants would do well to think it over as to if they want a ocean covering half of the planet, or would they like to warm it just enough for tundra conditions which would more or less turn the northern hemisphere into a permafrost undercoated tundra.
The southern hemisphere, might naturally get warmer, because if I recall, it's summers are naturally warmer, and it's winters naturally colder. So, do you want a tundra and perhaps tiaga north, and just possibly a desert/steppe/savanna southern hemisphere. Most of which you could walk on. Or do you want to try to melt the entire planet, and endure centuries of unstable surface in the northern hemisphere.
It's not my decision, just a question I ask.
]]>Should someone find a waterless way to extract O2 and CO drirectly from the atmosphere that is effective, then things could be reconsidered.
Dr. Zubrin and his company came up with a means to extract CO2 directly. Mars at night is almost cold enough to freeze CO2 into dry ice, so his approach was to freeze it: "Mars Atmosphere Carbon Dioxide Freezer" (MACDOF). Every night it would open and allow atmosphere to flow through, accumulating a block of dry ice. It may be dry ice frost. Every dawn it would seal shut, and warm. Freezer coils would reverse to be heating coils. Dry ice would sublimate to form CO2 gas, and since it's in a sealed container it would self-pressurize.
O2 is more problematic. You can run CO2 through direct carbon dioxide electrolysis. It has to be heated to +900°C, and electric charge across a thin wall catalyst. O2 passes through the thin wall, CO2 and CO does not. About 80% of CO2 is converted to O2 and CO. Remaining CO2 and CO are dumped into the Mars atmosphere. Since CO is a natural component of Mars atmosphere, this is not a contaminant. The process takes quite a bit of power. Since the electrolysis and Sabatier system for ISPP would not produce enough O2 to burn with methane for rocket fuel, this system always was part of ISPP for Mars Direct.
You can extract a small amount of O2 from soil by heating. It breaks down perchlorates into normal salt, releasing O2. A useful emergency procedure, but wouldn't produce sufficient O2 for regular production.
I suggest putting a nuclear powered mega-city somewhere there is a massive amount of accessible ice. That city would then generate the greenhouse gasses for terraforming, perhaps even as a side effect of manufacturing items for human use.
I did a calculation. Dr. McKay et al did the first calculation of greenhouse gasses necessary. Martyn J. Fogg wrote a textbook on terraforming. If you built 10 sites across Mars, each with 4 ore processors, and each running continuously 24 hours 39 minutes and 35.244 seconds per solar day, 7 days per week (it's so much easier on Earth to say 24/7), and each ore processor working with as much ore per hour as a processor in Alberta's tar sands (aka oil sands), then it would take 13 years (Earth years). So construction time plus 13 years of flat-out operation. After greenhouse gasses are emitted, you still have to wait for the planet to warm. Greenhouse gasses act as a blanket to trap heat in. Accumulating heat from the Sun and warming the surface of Mars will take time. Phase transition of dry ice to gas will consume a lot of heat. Phase transition of water ice to liquid will also take a lot of heat.
My point is don't expect just one city to be enough. Expect this will require at least 10 sites with large open pit mines, and mining trucks as big as the giant mining trucks of modern mines. Powering all that will take a lot, so each site will require at least one nuclear reactor. That means active mines for thorium. The big city will have to mine resources and manufacture equipment to build the trucks, excavators, ore processors, chemical plants, and power plants.
So expect one big city supporting multiple industrial sites. Each industrial site constructed on a major body of fluorine ore. That fluorine used to make PFCs and SF6: super greenhouse gasses.
]]>http://phys.org/news/2015-10-mars-life- … hreat.html
So, the game is on. While I support the morality of making stringent efforts to not contaminate Mars with Earth life, if there is a reasonable suspission of indignous life, I also believe that this situation will be used as a political football by entities which might want to exploit it for there purposes. I believe that it is true that during the settlement of the America's at least one colonizer had a policy as shown here. "If the natives come to you peacefully, then enslave them. If they run away then kill them." I do not believe that this is a current practice that I am aware of in the America's, but I do know that their are many peoples, both in my country, and even more so outside of my country who don't respect the personhood of others. Some of them do in fact have doctrins that proscribe the formula mentioned above, or at least they are to block us from escape/expansion. The notion being that we are to be subordinated.
And then again I also think there are always people who want to scrap other peoples projects. Sort of the strip the copper out of the buildings mentality. Some people like to make a profit by causing shipwrecks.
So, because I would like the question of life on Mars to be answered as soon as possible, I will attempt to propose a possible method that perhaps wiggles through the barriers reasonable people (Scientists, moralists), and our foes will place in the way.
I propose a multi-robot method.
1) Using catapult and fishing technology (Rod and Reel), I suggest a method to extract samples by forward casting into a presumed habitable area, and to deliver it to another robot by reverse catapulting it away further from the extraction site. This particular robot, could be highly sterilized since it will have much less sensory devices on it. How it gets to it's working location is open to options. I presume several possiblities.
2) A mobile robot will at a distance go an get the samples, and take them away for analysis. Taking them away might be; a) The lab is on the rover, b) The rover takes the samples to an even more remote lab, c) A sample return to orbit option.
In the process of casting the sinker might be a sample collecting device, or perhaps a cotton swab of some kind would be used, or something else.
The fish line and sample device would have the greatest level of sterilziation, but I assume that that entire casting and catapulting robot will be very sterile.
On Mars inertia is the same but gravity is .38 I believe, and of course air resistance is much smaller than on Earth. I also presume that the robot that casts and catapults will be really well made, if the study of those technoligies on Earth done correctly.
So, I presume a fairly large set of isolation distances.
As for the sample return option, I suggest that that be part of a personed visit to Phobos and/or Demos, to attempt to find samples of rocks, in particular rocks thought to have been ejected from Mars over the history of the existance of those moons. This of course will lay the groundwork for a future around Mars, with or without the existance of life on Mars.
Such a set of coordinated methods might meet broad support, but you will never get support from those who's intention is to trip you up. Some of them might pretend to support you, but of course you will also have to be on gaurd for sabatage.
The entire spectrum of potential human intentions have to be watched and considered.
Of course I am also expecting that more accessible sites of brine hydration will be found to practice this method on if the method proves to be worthwhile.
]]>This would be a new way to do things. I would not support atmospheric extractions at the equator with the water source that is implied. This is due to unfamilarity of producing food that way, and also, such a method seems likely to consume too much water. Should someone find a waterless way to extract O2 and CO drirectly from the atmosphere that is effective, then things could be reconsidered.
Your item (a) would be facilitated because the equator is more accessible I believe in many ways, from orbit, and also the climate being more steady and mild, more repeatedly and consistantly less of a challenge. Of course dust storms are a potential disruption. Some have minimized the effects, but consideration should be given. If the initial habitation is less of a challenge, then you don't need to haul as much material to Mars by rocket, so your (a) item is helped along that way.
I support your (b) as in RobertDyke thinking along with others, since for a rather dry location with water recycling, such a greenhouse would seem to make sense. Ice covered lakes would not. If ever they can occur at higher latitudes later.
However I will support the supplementation of (b) for a couple of reasons.
(1) Tom suggested a water tower. Storage of course, and strangely enough it is not that silly. I suggest transparent bags with pressurization where spirolina might be grown. Perhaps some other microbe could be considered. As for the tower, a pile of rocks. Place the bag on top of it. Use sun tracking mirrors to add photons to the bag, it being the focus. Of course don't overheat it. There would certainly be various add on devices for this, and the question exists on how to relate this device to your "Hab", but the fact is you want spare water tanks, in case you loose, or taint, your other sources of water. This reservoir will then be available to provide food, and perhaps Oxygen.
(2) The Mars suggested by the supposed water find suggests that the equator may have a number of oasis situations around it. So although it might be good to have wheeled robot carts to move things from one community to another, I suggest a rocket powered aircraft with redundant systems, to move people and emergency parts around to locations of resources, and also useful work. I would prefer that the fuel be CO, and of course O2 as the Oxidizer, but I will leave it to the rocket people who live there to live their life the way they want.
Splitting 2CO2 into O2 + 2CO (Is that right?) would be a dry process, and so not burden your limited water supply. Those chemicals could be stored rather easily I think. For a hopping aircraft, and for fuel cells at night, and during dust storms. But for this now, I would say that once you have your storage filled, and if you have power generating capacity to make more of the chemicals, you might try to grow food in tanks where organisms eat those chemicals. What you would get for your effort I would leave to speculation. Perhaps a food for humans, perhaps a feedstock for plastics.
So, it would be wonderful to try to distribute small groups of people around the equator, and of course preferable that they might find the minerals they need to form some type of early industrial structure.
After that I suggest putting a nuclear powered mega-city somewhere there is a massive amount of accessible ice. That city would then generate the greenhouse gasses for terraforming, perhaps even as a side effect of manufacturing items for human use. That city would not have to tightly recycle water. I have suggested a possibility for that in the terraforming section under the "Lakes" area. I am currently thinking it would work really well, if there were actually a very deep deposit of fossil ice near the equator. Otherwise it would have to be made on a glacier at higher latitudes.
Certainly not going to be the last words anyone will speak on the subject, but I suppose you wanted some words. I think I have rolled back
considerably from some of my more fantastic notions. This is because I think I can recognize the previous work by others does appear to fit well with an equator with many small sources of water around it. (I hope).
However, (a) we need to get there and (b) we may just find it easier to grow food on Mars in a earth-analog pressurised environment.
Certainly Louis, err.. Apparently
http://www.damninteresting.com/warm-blooded-plants/
In this case stored fuels providing the heat in the spring to melt snow not sure if the Oxidizer is stored or breathed:
http://cdn.damninteresting.com/wp-conte … sskunk.jpgThermogenesis is rare in plants, but does occur in several species of Arum, and in the philodendron, as well as the skunk cabbage. The heat generation of these thermogenic plants is not trivial, either. Recent measurements of the titan arum “Ted”, at UC Davis, showed the inflorescence— the flower-like structure of the arum— could maintain a temperature of 32 degrees Centigrade (90 F), well above the surrounding air temperature of 20 C (68 F). The skunk cabbage can do even better, maintaining temperatures as high as 35 C, even when the air temperature is below freezing.
If a organism saw an advantage in getting a drink of water, perhaps it would expend stored energy. That could be Hydrocarbons previously manufactured, or stored Oxidizer, perhaps the salts, and also from the atmosphere, perhaps CO and O2. How the O2 would be collected is not understood, since Hemoglobin would be clogged with CO. But perhaps some different variation of the theme. So potentially stored energy, and real time obtainable chemical energy. Plus of course a solar contribution. On the surface.
I have seen articles citing water from ice contacting salts, or aquifers, or humidity from the air acting with the salts to provide water.
I have not seen addressed the humidity inside of rocks and soil, particularly the pore space in rocks, and also the "Void" spaces between discrete items composing regolith. Those pores and voids I think should have some type of median humidity, and the deeper you go as a rule the more steady it should be.
A sort of averaging of extreme humidity variations in the air, and on the surface.
So, the conduction of water vapor through the medium of the soil. This being driven by various forces. For instance higher humidity donating to lower humidity areas in general. Also there should be a skin effect on the particles, where moisture may have an affinity for some more than others. And of course ionic forces. I suppose there might be other, but I think I have said enough.
So, without liquid aquifers, can you have vapor aquifers? Might your vapor aquifers communicate with salty or not salty aquifers deep below?
Does vapor coming up replenish a fresh water permafrost, and can salts on the surface permeate that, creating a wick, and under certain temperature conditions, cause the salt wick to become hydrated?
Are some locations more prone to leak humidity upwards to the surface? Do some locations absorb humidity into the soils and send them elsewhere?
Now with or without life in them these things are of interest. Since the Equator of Mars is most habitable except for water, we are interested in a source of water there, with life or without life.
Can you create more such? Can you enhance them? That is if water vapor is moving upwards in an area, can you place down salts on the surface to collect the vapors? What if you put a glazing over that, and change the temperature profile?
Nice stuff, I think.
Should they try to land a water tower and drilling rig on Mars? That way they could drill for water, and the water tower would provide water pressure for the astronauts so they could take a shower and have a bath. What about septic systems for flushing the toilet?
http://www.damninteresting.com/warm-blooded-plants/
In this case stored fuels providing the heat in the spring to melt snow not sure if the Oxidizer is stored or breathed:
Thermogenesis is rare in plants, but does occur in several species of Arum, and in the philodendron, as well as the skunk cabbage. The heat generation of these thermogenic plants is not trivial, either. Recent measurements of the titan arum “Ted”, at UC Davis, showed the inflorescence— the flower-like structure of the arum— could maintain a temperature of 32 degrees Centigrade (90 F), well above the surrounding air temperature of 20 C (68 F). The skunk cabbage can do even better, maintaining temperatures as high as 35 C, even when the air temperature is below freezing.
If a organism saw an advantage in getting a drink of water, perhaps it would expend stored energy. That could be Hydrocarbons previously manufactured, or stored Oxidizer, perhaps the salts, and also from the atmosphere, perhaps CO and O2. How the O2 would be collected is not understood, since Hemoglobin would be clogged with CO. But perhaps some different variation of the theme. So potentially stored energy, and real time obtainable chemical energy. Plus of course a solar contribution. On the surface.
I have seen articles citing water from ice contacting salts, or aquifers, or humidity from the air acting with the salts to provide water.
I have not seen addressed the humidity inside of rocks and soil, particularly the pore space in rocks, and also the "Void" spaces between discrete items composing regolith. Those pores and voids I think should have some type of median humidity, and the deeper you go as a rule the more steady it should be.
A sort of averaging of extreme humidity variations in the air, and on the surface.
So, the conduction of water vapor through the medium of the soil. This being driven by various forces. For instance higher humidity donating to lower humidity areas in general. Also there should be a skin effect on the particles, where moisture may have an affinity for some more than others. And of course ionic forces. I suppose there might be other, but I think I have said enough.
So, without liquid aquifers, can you have vapor aquifers? Might your vapor aquifers communicate with salty or not salty aquifers deep below?
Does vapor coming up replenish a fresh water permafrost, and can salts on the surface permeate that, creating a wick, and under certain temperature conditions, cause the salt wick to become hydrated?
Are some locations more prone to leak humidity upwards to the surface? Do some locations absorb humidity into the soils and send them elsewhere?
Now with or without life in them these things are of interest. Since the Equator of Mars is most habitable except for water, we are interested in a source of water there, with life or without life.
Can you create more such? Can you enhance them? That is if water vapor is moving upwards in an area, can you place down salts on the surface to collect the vapors? What if you put a glazing over that, and change the temperature profile?
Nice stuff, I think.
]]>