Mars had warmer weather in its recent past than previously thought
30 Jun 2009, 1104 Hrs

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London, June 30 A new research led by a UK scientist has indicated that Mars had significantly warmer weather in its recent past than previously thought.

Dr. Matthew Balme, from The Open University, made the new discovery by studying detailed images of equatorial landforms that formed by melting of ice-rich soils. is work indicates that the Martian surface experienced "freeze thaw" cycles as recently as 2 million years ago, and that Mars has not been locked in permafrost conditions for billions of years as had been previously thought.

The high-resolution images, which show a variety of interesting landforms, were taken with NASA's HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging science Experiment) which is onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission.

According to Dr. Balme, "The features of this terrain were previously interpreted to be the result of volcanic processes. The amazingly detailed images from HiRISE show that the features are instead caused by the expansion and contraction of ice, and by thawing of ice-rich ground. This all suggests a very different climate to what we see today."

All of the landforms observed are in an outflow channel, thought to have been active as recently as 2 million to 8 million years ago.

Since the landforms exist within, and cut across, the pre-existing features of the channel, this suggests that they too were created within this timeframe.

The pictures show polygonally patterned surfaces, branched channels, blocky debris and mound/cone structures.

All of these features are similar to landforms on Earth typical of areas where permafrost terrain is melting.

"These observations demonstrate not only that there was ice near the Martian equator in the last few million years, but also that the ice melted to form liquid water and then refroze. And this probably happened for many cycles," Dr. Balme said.

"Given that liquid water seems to be essential for life, these kinds of environments could be a great place to look for evidence of past life on Mars," he added.

According to Professor Keith Mason, CEO of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), "Understanding current processes on the surface of Mars and the past and present role of climate improves our knowledge of the planet's history and thus the chances of one day detecting evidence for past or present life." (ANI)

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