You are undoubtedly used to the idea of dryness and dust for the red planet, right? However, scientists have found evidence of a large ocean that covered hundreds of millions of square kilometers of the surface of Mars some 3.5 billion years ago. Find out more about this ocean on marsKeep reading.
Read more: The research offers a possible answer to agriculture on Mars
Evidence of an ocean on Mars
Researchers from Pennsylvania State University and California Institute of Technology, both in the United States, have uncovered evidence of an ancient ocean on Mars. The existence of water on the planet could indicate that the area was once suitable for hosting life.
The team used satellite imagery to map the Martian supercontinent. The study covered 6.5 million square kilometers of river ridges that appear to have been hidden by rivers that were present in the area 3.5 billion years ago. The full survey was published in Journal of geophysical research: planets.
According to Benjamin Cárdenas, a geoscientist at Pennsylvania State University, the main innovation of this article was to think of Mars in terms of stratigraphy and sedimentary documentation.
How was this study done?
On Earth, we trace streams by looking at sediments that build up over time. Stratigraphy is the idea that sediments are transported by water and that it is possible to measure changes on the earth’s surface by understanding how sediments accumulate. However, in the study, this was done on Mars.
The team applied an analysis of thickness dimensions, angles and positions using data from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter satellite, collected in 2007, to better understand the study area, known as the Aeolis Dorsa region on Mars.
Conclusions of this study
The researchers concluded that the crests of the river are likely the remains of ancient rivers that have been eroded by large basins similar to Aeolis Dorsa.
All this is related to the search for life on Mars. One of the fundamental questions investigated by scientists is whether life could have been sustained there earlier.
Scientists are finding more and more signs that water was once abundant on Mars and are still working to find out where it might have come from and where it is now, despite the difficulty of studying it millions of years ago.
