Traces of a giant ocean have just been discovered on Mars

You are no doubt used to an idea of ​​​​dryness and dust for the red planet, are you not? However, scientists have discovered evidence of a large ocean that covered hundreds of millions of square kilometers of Mars' surface approximately 3.5 billion years ago. To learn more about this ocean on mars, keep reading.

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Evidence of Ocean on Mars

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and the California Institute of Technology, both in the United States, have discovered evidence of an ancient ocean on Mars. The existence of water on the planet may indicate that the area was once suitable for harboring life.

The team used satellite imagery to map the Martian supercontinent. The study covered 6.5 million square kilometers of river ranges that appear to have been hidden by rivers that were present in the area 3.5 billion years ago. The complete survey was published in

Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.

The main innovation of this article was to think of Mars in terms of its stratigraphy and sedimentary record, according to Pennsylvania State University geoscientist Benjamin Cárdenas.

How was this study done?

On Earth, we trace waterways by looking at the sediments that accumulate over time. Stratigraphy is the idea that sediments are carried by water and that you can measure changes to the Earth's surface by understanding how sediments accumulate. However, in the study, this was done on Mars.

The team applied an analysis of the sizes, angles and locations of the thicknesses using data from the Mars satellite. Reconnaissance Orbiter, collected in 2007, to better understand the study area – known as the Aeolis Dorsa region in Mars.

Conclusions of this study

The researchers came to the conclusion that the river ridges are likely remnants of ancient rivers that were eroded by large basins similar to the Aeolis Dorsa.

All of this is tied to the search for life on Mars. One of the most fundamental questions being scrutinized 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 they're still working on it. to discover where it may have come from and where it is now, despite the difficulty of studying millions of years back.