14 DAY TRIAL // The debate as to whether or not the Red Planet was covered by a large ocean many years ago has been hotly discussed in the international scientific community for decades. Reaching a conclusion has been difficult to say the least, given that none of the evidence (pro or against) were conclusive. But the discussion may have just come to an abrupt end, thanks to a new investigation from the University of Colorado in Boulder (UCB). The group determined that about one third of Mars was covered by an ocean, more than 3 billion years ago, Space reports.
The water covered the lowlands that exist at the northern latitudes on Mars. The researchers base their conclusions on analysis of a large number of fossilized deltas and river valleys, which are all part of a massive database. The experts looked at all of these features, and determined that 29 of all deltas in the study were located at the same altitude. This is extremely important, because it means that they could have ringed a massive ocean, spreading over 30 percent of Mars. The investigators believe that this is definite proof a large body of water covered our neighboring planet.
“Our findings lend credence to the existing theories regarding extent and formation time of an ancient ocean on Mars. Moreover our test suggests that early Mars could have likely had a global water cycle similar to the present hydrological configuration of our planet,” explains UCB planetary geologist and researcher Gaetano Di Achille. “It is a very basic scheme on our planet – rivers form deltas when opening into the seas and oceans and these are ideally formed at the same elevation, the mean global sea level, across the planet,” he explains. The expert adds that even the tracks left behind by old rivers show that a northern ocean must have existed at that location.
“It is surprising how our results are compatible with previous independent studies based on totally different approaches. Of course, our paper will not say the final word on the debate about the Martian ocean, but we are adding a significant piece to the big puzzle. Hopefully the next missions to Mars, like for example MAVEN, will help to answer this question and provide new insights into the history of the Martian water and the presence of an ancient ocean on Mars,” the scientist explains. Details of the new work were published online in the June 13 issue of the esteemed scientific journal Nature Geoscience.