On Mars were spent in front of a comparatively short time mighty rivers. A team of researchers reported by Edwin Kite of the University of Chicago after a systematic analysis of dried-up riverbeds on the Red planet. Before the round-a-billion years – and thus a considerably shorter time than previously suspected – would have led to a lot of rivers on Mars, large quantities of water, the scientists write in the journal “Science Advances”.
Up to 20 liters per square meter per day
the surface of The Red planet, and the beds are criss-crossed with hundreds of dried-up river. Kites Team analyzed more than 200 of them on the basis of the numerous shots of Mars probes. The statistical analysis shows that, according to the researchers, the Martian rivers in the Central were about wide twice the as aliens today. Width and slope of the river beds, as well as the amount of gravel to allow also an estimation of the amount of water that must be flowed. Since the analyzed river beds from very different periods of Mars history are, thus, also the temporal development of flows on our neighbouring planet to pursue.
The analysis revealed that the rivers must have passed through all the epochs, prior to about a billion years to the end of the “wet Phase” of the climate of Mars, significant amounts of water. Less than three billion years ago was streamed from their respective catchment area daily for three to 20 litres of water per square meter in the Martian rivers.
of New knowledge, but now even more questions
This set is surprising, since previous models of the climate history of Mars assume that the Red Planet has become obsessed with the gradual loss of its atmosphere is also less liquid water, which could collect in rivers. “You would expect that they are drying up slowly with time,” explained Kite, in a communication to its University. “But that is not what we observe.” The typical length of the rivers by the Thousands had dwindled to hundreds of kilometers, but they would have transported significant quantities of water.
The observations complicate to kite words, the image from the earlier Mars climate, the would have to have been self-warm periods are actually mostly too cold for liquid water. “It is hard to explain to rivers or lakes on the basis of the information available,” stresses the researcher. “This makes a difficult Problem even more complicated.” The study could help the numerous theories about the Martian climate.
Visible traces of the water of Mars shows today in its polar ice caps of frozen carbon dioxide, also water ice. In addition, extremely salt-containing Brine to Parts of the surface or directly below it exist. In the Martian soil is also stored water, the planet’s atmosphere contains molecules small amounts of water. Possible manned – and, above all, longer manned – missions to Mars would greatly benefit from it, to be able to existing water use. The U.S. government, however, has moved recently, the focus of Nasa away from Mars missions back to the moon. This could, however, serve in the medium term, as a base for missions to Mars.
That there is water on Mars must be, of which early observers went out with their telescopes. They interpreted with the help of the instruments visible polar ice as frozen water. However, about the astronomer William Hershel was in the 18th century. Century assume that there are also oceans – and residents there are similar conditions as on the earth would find.
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Richard Friebe
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