The Martian meteorite Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034, nicknamed "Black Beauty," contains significantly more water than most other Martian meteorites. In a study, planetary scientist Dr. Ananya Sen and her team analyzed the meteorite's clasts, which are fragments of older rocks cemented together. The researchers determined that the water is primarily locked within apatite crystals inside the basaltic clasts, rather than in the surrounding impact-melt matrix or as a result of terrestrial contamination. Furthermore, the team found that the isotopic signature of the hydrogen in this mineral-bound water matches the Martian atmospheric composition from approximately 4.4 billion years ago, rather than the contemporary Martian atmosphere or terrestrial reservoirs.
Based on the text, what is true of the water found in the Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 meteorite?
- It is concentrated mainly within the apatite crystals of the meteorite's basaltic rock fragments.Answer
- BIt is primarily found within the impact-melt matrix that surrounds the basaltic clasts.
- CIts hydrogen isotopic signature is identical to that of contemporary terrestrial water reservoirs.
- DIt provides definitive proof that Martian surface water was once abundant enough to support microbial life.