Distribution of water on Mars: Implications from SNC meteorites

There has been much speculation about the abundance of water and other volatiles on Mars. Attempts to calculate abundances of water on Mars indicate that Mars contains approx. 10-100 m of water. Numerous models have been put forth to determine the amount of water on Mars more closely. Some researchers infer that Chassigny parent magma contained greater than 1.5 percent water by weight and that the Martian mantle contained greater than 1000 parts per million water. This is too much water for a depleted region. Perhaps some of the water in Chassigny was assimilated at shallow depths, either in a crustal magma chamber or by interaction with superficial permafrost. Either is possible and provides an alternative to the dilemma of water-rich to depleted regions.