Experimental study of the stability of volatiles on Mars

Laboratory simulation experiments have been performed to study the stability of volatiles under martian conditions. The first chapter of this dissertation is background information on the relevance of the research to the past and present Mars. Papers that have been published or submitted for publication have their introductions copied to this section. The second chapter describes the experimental procedures and methods used in the experiments. Similar to the first chapter, those papers that have been published or submitted for publication have their experimental sections copied to this section. Chapter three section one and chapter four were published in the Mars Polar Science Special Edition of Icarus. Chapter three section two describes experiments performed to explore the kinetics of water adsorption onto basaltic and montmorillonite regoliths under martian conditions, but have yet to be published. Chapter five is a paper in preparation for publication on the effects of wind on gully formation. Chapter six has been submitted to Nature Geosciences.;Experiments that measured the sublimation rate of ice under basaltic regolith layers and the adsorption of that regolith and montmorillonite regolith under simulated martian conditions were performed. The results of this experiment were applied to understanding the mid and low latitude water and the diurnal variations in atmospheric water content on Mars. In addition experiments on the effect of wind on the sublimation of ice were executed. These results were applied to understanding the formation of gully features on Mars, confirming their formation by an evaporating liquid. Lastly the sublimation of carbon dioxide ice was determined, and these results applied to the martian polar caps.;These experiments help to better understand geologic and climactic questions of the martian past, present, and future.