Terraforming: Peat bogs

Arable soil from regolith

Organics

Regolith: finely ground rock

No organics, no carbon

No soil nitrogen found so far

Low potassium, high iron

How do we convert vast fields of regolith to arable soil?

Acid breaks down feldspar

Hydrochloric acid dissolves anorthite & bytownite

Strong acid breaks down most minerals

Sphagnum produces phenolic acid, pH 3-4.5

leach nutrients from rock:• calcium, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium

Leave hydrated mineral: clay, gypsum, crandallite

Cyanobacteria grows in symbiosis• fixes nitrogen from air• generates oxygen

Circulation pumps

Rapid conversion of rock to hydrated minerals requires moving strong acid through finely ground rock.

Mars “soil” is already fines, finer than dust.

Pump to raise water from bedrock to surface

Slow sand filter will keep fines out of pump

Solar powered, each pump

Slow water flow, don’t disturb the peat

Peat requires stagnant water

Pioneer plant

Sphagnum prefers sand in clean water• no alkali

water must be 0-3” (0-7.6cm) from surface• Creates microenvironment to keep stalks humid

O2 from cyanobacteria also in microenvironment

• doesn’t require oxygen atmosphere

Holds rainwater, doesn’t require irrigation

Creates environment for other plants

Mature bog

plastic to contain O2

holes to drain rain into soil

high PP O2, but leaks O2

sedges, forbes, willows

Berries:blueberry, raspberry, strawberry,

saskatoon berry, cranberry, huckleberry, sarsaparilla (root beer), lingonberry, and cloudberry

Black spruce trees

Boreal Forest

Black spruce: pH 3.5-7

Sphagnum: pH 3-4.5

Forest in bog: pH 3.5-4.5

Forest: serious oxygen generation

Lumber

Environment for animals

Animals

Wood Bison• largest animal in North America• adult males 350-1000kg• native to boreal forest

Muskox• native to islands of high arctic• ideal for colder areas of Mars

Barren-ground Caribou• taiga forests & tundra

Woodland Caribou, Moose, Elk

Prairie & Farmland

Lime soil to neutralize pH• limestone or wood ash

Convert deep organic soil into farmland

Slightly acid soil is good for crops• continue to leach nutrients from rock

Interconnected roots of grass prevent soil erosion• further work is just farming

Terraforming in Manitoba

Purpose: form soil from rock

Method: blast rock, grid into rock flour, grow peat bog