The possibility of Liquid water lake Hidden under Mars‘The Antarctic ice cap is receding in front of us.
Last year, according to a paper, the temperature was May be too cold This is to prevent the water from freezing in this area. Now, new research has shown that radar signals, interpreted as liquid water, are likely to be volcanic rocks, another resource that Mars has abundantly.
“Here we aim to determine if today’s Martian terrain can generate strong basal echoes if it is covered by a planet-wide ice sheet.” Researchers write in their dissertation..
“It has been found that some existing volcanic-related terrains can generate very strong basal signals similar to those observed in the Antarctic crown.”
The detection of an underground reservoir of liquid water in Antarctica on Mars was announced in 2018.
Radar signals that bounce off just below the surface of the planet High radar cross section patch 1.4 kilometers (0.87 miles) under ice, not as much as an underground pool of liquid water, according to researchers.
Subsequent searches found a glossier reflective patch, The entire network of underground lakes..
This would be huge.Here on earth, underground waters are where we can find Microbial life It relies on chemical reactions, not sunlight, to survive. If there is life on Mars, you may find it in a similar environment. But Mars is probably too cold a way for such a liquid reservoir.
“For water to be maintained near the surface, it requires both a very salty environment and a powerful source of locally generated heat, which is what we know about the region. Does not match. ” Planetary scientist Cyril Grima says Of the Institute of Geophysics, University of Texas.
This raises the question: what are those shiny patches?
A Subsequent papers Examination of the data revealed that frozen clay could produce reflectance similar to the underground and ionospheric sounding signals detected by Mars altitude radar ().Marsis) European Space Agency equipment Mars Express Research.
Grima and his colleagues took a different approach. They placed a virtual ice sheet across Mars’ radar Earth, composed of three years of MARSIS data, and showed what the red planet would look like through 1.4 km (0.87 miles) of frozen water.
He then searched for reflective patches similar to those interpreted as water and found them scattered at all latitudes. When possible, researchers have mapped these patches to the known geology of Mars. The patch matched the volcanic terrain very nicely.
(Cyril Grima)
Above: Mars, which appears to be covered in ice. Red spots are volcanic / reflective patches.
Just as frozen clay is highly radar-reflective on Earth, so is volcanic rock, which is rich in metals such as iron. Mars is rich in volcanic rocks Absolute bang of iron..
Future remote sensing missions will examine ice caps to see if this interpretation is likely, or in fact, due to frozen clay.
However, this study also offers new ways to explore. In short, it helps us to better understand the history of water on Mars.
“The beauty of Grima’s discovery today shatters the idea that there may be liquid water beneath the planet’s South Pole, while looking for evidence of ancient lakes and riverbeds and very much to test the hypothesis. I think it’s about providing an accurate location. It will dry out more widely from the Martian climate for billions of years. ” Planetary scientist Ian Smith says Of York University, Canada, who led the research on frozen clay.
Two scientists are working on a mission proposal to try to find water on Mars using radar-based remote sensing. Both are related to future manned Mars missions and you can learn more about Mars itself.
“Science is not absolutely certain in the first attempt” Smith says.. “This is especially true in planetary science, which relies on devices that look at places that no one has visited and control everything remotely.”
The study is published at Geophysics Research Letter..
