Scientists are investigating what kind of greenhouse effect would be necessary on Mars to raise its frigid climate enough to support tree growth, reports Space.com.
A new study outlines how much carbon dioxide (CO2) would need to accumulate on the Red Planet to create an environment where trees and other plants could thrive.
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Subscribe to the NewsletterThe research, led by Professor Robert Olszewski of the Warsaw University of Technology in Poland, examines the balance of surface energy on Mars. This includes processes such as CO2 condensation and evaporation, heat exchange with the planet’s interior, and atmospheric circulation.
“Interestingly, the first areas to reach suitable conditions for plant life may not be the tropics (±25°), but rather the Hellas plain,” the study’s authors note. “As the greenhouse effect intensifies, this region expands further into the southern hemisphere.”
Using a computer model based on actual Mars data, Olszewski and his team calculated the ideal levels of CO2, oxygen, water, and temperature ranges necessary for tree growth.
“Today’s Martian atmosphere is hostile to life, so we examined the requirements for tree growth in the context of both planet-wide terraforming and greenhouse environments,” Olszewski explains. Temperature, he emphasized, is critical, as it controls the CO2 cycle and maintains water in a liquid state.
Oxygen levels in a denser, warmer atmosphere also remain a significant challenge.
Ultimately, the scientists concluded that the most promising conditions for a Martian forest would be in the southern hemisphere, where summers are warmer and longer.
“A long, warm summer could provide the first viable growing season,” the researchers conclude. “The low altitude of the Hellas Plain, in particular, could create the earliest favorable conditions for tree growth.”
