What ancient Mars rocks reveal about its buried carbonate stores

Carbonate minerals are among the best records of past liquid water on Mars: They form when water carrying dissolved carbon dioxide reacts with rock, and their composition reflects the chemistry of both. Yet Mars has surprisingly little carbonate on its surface compared with what climate models predict, given that the planet likely had a (at least transiently) thick, CO2-rich atmosphere more than 3 billion years ago.

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