Was the martian climate life-friendly?
3 Jul 2009
Warm weather near the martian equator may have melted the ice in ice-rich soils as recently as two million years ago, according to a paper published the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters. This indicates that the Red Planet was warmer and more life-friendly much later in its history than previous studies show.
Matthew Balme, a research scientist with the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute and a research fellow at the United Kingdom's Open University, discovered signs of melting permafrost in images from NASA's HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera, which is flying aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.
The images show that landforms once thought to be shaped by volcanism were actually modified by the expansion and contraction of ice due to freeze/thaw cycles, Balme said.
This image shows evidence of flowing water on Mars, which occurred in recent geologic time. Virtually identical features are seen on Earth in permafrost areas of Canada and Siberia.
Balme studied an outflow channel that was active as recently as two to eight million years ago. The channel contains polygonal patterns, branched channels, blocky debris and mound/cone formations, all of which are similar to formations found where permafrost melts on Earth.
"These observations demonstrate that ice melted near the martian equator within the past few million years and then refroze," Balme said. "This probably happened over many freeze/thaw cycles."
Since liquid water is essential to life as we know it, this equatorial channel would be an ideal place to hunt for traces of past or present martian life, Balme added.
Adapted from information issued by Planetary Science Institute / NASA / Jet Propulsion Laboratory / The University of Arizona.
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