Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Marion, G M
• Mironenko, M V
• Roberts, M W

Titel

FREZCHEM: An Aqueous Geochemical Model for Mars

Ist Teil von

• Eos (Washington, D.C.), 2006-12, Vol.87 (52)

Erscheinungsjahr

2006

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• For the past eight years, the NASA PG&G and MFR programs have funded the development of the FREZCHEM model. FREZCHEM is an equilibrium chemical thermodynamic model parameterized for concentrated electrolyte solutions (with 81 solid phases) using the Pitzer equations for the temperature range from 200 to 298 K and the total pressure range from 1 to 1000 bars. This model has been extensively used to explore cold geochemical processes and the limits for life in the Arctic, Antarctica, Europa, and Mars. The FORTRAN code has been made freely available to interested scientists. Despite these wide-spread applications, the continual updating, dissemination, and archiving of the model is problematic. The objectives of this project were to (1) develop a user-friendly FORTRAN code, (2) implement an Internet-accessible working model, and (3) develop an archive for various model versions. In this presentation, we will outline the new computer algorithm that uses the Gibbs energy minimization approach, describe the Internet-accessible working model, and illustrate model applications to Martian geochemistry. This project will make this unique research tool readily and easily available, even to occasional users, now and in the future. Today, such a user-friendly model would be especially helpful in interpreting the exciting data from the new Mars missions.