Ancient river deltas, evidence found on Mars
Images from cameras on Mars orbiters have led an international research team to find evidence of ancient river deltas on the planet. The research team, led by the University of Bern, working in collaboration with the INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, discovered structures that are “very similar” to classic river deltas here on Earth, like the one pictured from the USA. The study was published in the journal npj space exploration.
These are traces of rivers that deposited their sediment into an ocean, suggesting that the Red Planet was once blue, around three billion years ago. Previous studies have already provided evidence of oceans and rivers on Mars, suggesting a once humid and habitable environment. Evidence of a possible ocean had also been found in the Valles Marineris, the planet’s largest canyon system, stretching along its equator.
Using high-resolution images from various Mars cameras, the team found geomorphological structures near the canyon system that are very similar to the river deltas on earth. These include structures that resemble the mouth of a river into an ocean. “The new study thus provides clear evidence of a coastline and consequently of an earlier ocean on Mars,” according to a press release from the University of Bern.
The results also reveal that the ocean was “at least as large as the Arctic Ocean.”
The discovery of ancient river deltas and the confirmation of evidence of a former ocean “suggest that conditions once prevailed on Mars that could have favoured the emergence and development of life,” it added.
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