2020-09-01 18:37:02
The traces supposedly left by liquid water on the surface of Mars are really many and some of them are impressive. The one known as Ma’adim Vallis, is one of these footprints. It is a 700 km long, 20 km wide and 2 km deep canyon, significantly larger than the Colorado canyon.
The water cycle that could once exist on Mars must have worked in a similar way to how it works on Earth today. Supposedly it generated abundant rainfall in the southern hemisphere and supposed rivers were formed, some of them truly enormous, from what can be deduced from the characteristics of the valleys, now dry, that they have been observed.
Not all specialists in Mars and planetary sciences agree that Mars had numerous rivers in the past. Some analyzes of the planet’s evolution suggest that it could never have had a sufficiently high surface temperature to allow abundant liquid water to exist. If this is so, the valleys that once formed on the surface of Mars should have been carved out by ice.
A group of researchers from the University of Vancouver, in Canada, has carried out a comparative analysis of more than ten thousand Martian valleys. Using a new algorithm that allows estimating the erosion process that originated the valley, the researchers conclude that most of the valleys analyzed were formed by glaciers.
To confirm this conclusion, the researchers compare Martian valleys with terrestrial valleys formed by glaciers. In particular, they compare them to the glacial valleys of Devon, the world’s largest uninhabited island, part of a large archipelago north of Canada and west of Greenland. The comparison shows that most of the Martian valleys share significant geological features with the Devon valleys, indicating that they were formed by glaciers.
What significance can this have for the Martian issue that matters most to humanity? Well, it turns out that’s good news. The possible life that could develop on Mars would be favored by the glaciers and the ice sheet that could cover a good part of that planet. This layer would allow the presence of liquid water at its bottom, a temperature that, although cold, would be very stable and protection from solar radiation provided by ice, which on a planet with a weak atmosphere acquires greater importance.
Several missions have recently been launched to Mars. One of them even intends to bring Martian soil samples to Earth for analysis. Perhaps in a few years we can tell the news that many of us want. Is it true that there was life on Mars once?
Jorge Laborda, August 30, 2020
Referencia: Grau Galofre, A., Jellinek, A.M. & Osinski, G.R. Valley formation on early Mars by subglacial and fluvial erosion. Nat. Geosci. (2020).
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