Previous studies of satellite data from Mars have identified erosional landforms called fluvial ridges as possible candidates for ancient river deposits. Using data collected by the Curiosity rover in Gale crater, the team found signs of river deposits that are not associated with fluvial ridges, but rather bench and nose landforms that have never been associated with ancient river deposits.
“This suggests that there may be river deposits that have not been discovered elsewhere on the planet, and that most of the Martian sedimentary record was probably formed by rivers during the habitable period of Mars’ history,” Cardenas said. “On Earth, river corridors are essential for life, chemical cycles, nutrient cycles and sediment cycles. Everything suggests that these rivers behave similarly on Mars.”
In designing their computer model, Cardenas and his team found new uses for 25-year-old stratigraphic scans of the Earth. Cardenas explains that scans collected by oil companies beneath the seabed of the Gulf of Mexico provide an ideal comparison with Mars.
The team simulated Mars-like erosion using 3D scans of actual stratigraphy recorded on Earth. When they ran simulations, the model revealed a Martian erosional landscape that formed topographic benches and noses, rather than fluvial ridges, that appeared nearly identical to the landforms observed by the Curiosity rover inside Gale crater.
“Our research shows that Mars may have had more rivers than previously thought, which certainly paints a more optimistic picture of ancient life on Mars,” Cardenas said. “This offers a picture of Mars where much of the planet once had the right conditions for life.”
Another co-author of the paper is Kaitlyn Stacey, a doctoral candidate in planetary geosciences at Penn State. A NASA Solar System Work Grant funded this work.
2023-10-23 19:40:24
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