Scientists have discovered more evidence that a giant ocean of water covered as much as one third of Mars billions of years ago.
The latest clues were found in photos from a NASA satellite called the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The images show what appears to be an ancient river delta that once flowed into what is now dried up ocean floor on the Red Plant, states a new study.
"Scientists have long hypothesized that the northern lowlands of Mars are a dried-up ocean bottom, but no one yet has found the smoking gun," study co-author Mike Lamb, an assistant professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, said in a statement.
The study, which was published online in the July 12 issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, states that astronomers have also discovered dried up riverbeds, lake deltas, and evidence of widespread glaciers, reports the Christian Science Monitor.
The region under investigation is known as Aeolis Dorsa, a plain located at the border between the northern lowlands and the southern highlands. This plain contains many ridges, which are interpreted as ancient river channels.
"These 'inverted' channels are now elevated because the coarse sand and gravel carried by the channels is more resistant to erosion than the surrounding mud and silt making up the floodplain material," Dr. Roman DiBiase, lead author on the study, told Universe Today.
Final proof of a Martian ocean will advance our knowledge of the intricate interplay between water, climate, and life.
"The history of water on Mars has implications not only for the evolution of Martian climate, but also for learning about the early evolution of Earth and Earth's climate," DiBiase added.
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