For the first time, traces of dried-out rivers have been found in the rocks of Mars. Scientists write this in the journal Nature Communications. A 200-meter-high rock wall consists of sedimentary rock, originating from rivers that flowed over the red planet 3.7 billion years ago.
The rivers were discovered by British, French, Italian and Dutch researchers, who analyzed satellite images of the rocks. The rivers are said to have flowed into the Hellas impact crater, in the southern hemisphere of the planet.
The team applied techniques that have been used on Earth for years to investigate strata of sedimentary rocks. The rocks in question are probably only part of all the traces left by the rivers, but the rest may have been lost to erosion or buried under layers of other material. What the newly discovered rivers have looked like has not yet been determined.
Scientists have been around longer proof that on the red planet there used to be liquid water. The planet’s atmosphere would have been thicker, so temperatures could be better held to allow flowing rivers.
Also, there would be a large liquid lake below the south pole of Mars, and the planet may have groundwater systems at a depth of 750 meters.
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