Post by anansi on Feb 8, 2012 2:18:08 GMT -5
A European spacecraft orbiting Mars has found more revealing evidence that an ocean may have covered parts of the Red Planet billions of years ago.
The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft detected sediments on Mars' northern plains that are reminiscent of an ocean floor, in a region that has also previously been identified as the site of ancient Martian shorelines, the researchers said.
"We interpret these as sedimentary deposits, maybe ice-rich," study leader Jérémie Mouginot, of the Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) in France and the University of California, Irvine, said in a statement. "It is a strong new indication that there was once an ocean here."
As part of its mission, Mars Express uses a radar instrument, called MARSIS, to probe beneath the Martian surface and search for liquid and solid water in the upper portions of the planet's crust.
The researchers analyzed more than two years of MARSIS data and found that the northern plains of Mars are covered in low-density material that suggests the region may have been an ancient Martian ocean. [Photos: Red Planet Views from Europe's Mars Express]
"MARSIS penetrates deep into the ground, revealing the first 60–80 meters of the planet's subsurface," said Wlodek Kofman, leader of the radar team at IPAG. "Throughout all of this depth, we see the evidence for sedimentary material and ice."
The idea of oceans on ancient Mars is hardly new, and features reminiscent of shorelines have been tentatively identified in images from various spacecraft and missions. Still, the concept remains controversial.
In fact, this new investigation comes on the heels of a separate study that found that Mars may have experienced a "super-drought," making it parched for too long for life to exist on the surface of the planet today.
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The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft detected sediments on Mars' northern plains that are reminiscent of an ocean floor, in a region that has also previously been identified as the site of ancient Martian shorelines, the researchers said.
"We interpret these as sedimentary deposits, maybe ice-rich," study leader Jérémie Mouginot, of the Institut de Planétologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG) in France and the University of California, Irvine, said in a statement. "It is a strong new indication that there was once an ocean here."
As part of its mission, Mars Express uses a radar instrument, called MARSIS, to probe beneath the Martian surface and search for liquid and solid water in the upper portions of the planet's crust.
The researchers analyzed more than two years of MARSIS data and found that the northern plains of Mars are covered in low-density material that suggests the region may have been an ancient Martian ocean. [Photos: Red Planet Views from Europe's Mars Express]
"MARSIS penetrates deep into the ground, revealing the first 60–80 meters of the planet's subsurface," said Wlodek Kofman, leader of the radar team at IPAG. "Throughout all of this depth, we see the evidence for sedimentary material and ice."
The idea of oceans on ancient Mars is hardly new, and features reminiscent of shorelines have been tentatively identified in images from various spacecraft and missions. Still, the concept remains controversial.
In fact, this new investigation comes on the heels of a separate study that found that Mars may have experienced a "super-drought," making it parched for too long for life to exist on the surface of the planet today.
egyptsearchreloaded.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=polysci&action=post