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Liquid water on Mars

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  • Liquid water on Mars

    Looking fairly certain.

    New research has found evidence to prove that flowing liquid water is almost certainly responsible for strange seasonal features in the landscape of Mars.

    Experts say the discovery increases the likelihood that life exists on the red planet.

    For some time scientists have been trying to identify the narrow streaks that appear to flow down slopes on Mars during warm seasons.

    Known as recurring slope lineae (RSL), they are typically less than 5 metres wide and are up to 100 metres in length, and fade when the weather becomes cooler.

    Researchers had speculated in recent years that water could be involved in their formation, but had been unable to prove it.

    However, high resolution images of four different locations on the planet, taken using the CRISM spectrometer on board the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter, have finally settled the issue.

    Analysed using a new technique, the satellite gathered data has found that the gullies contain salt minerals left over from briny water flowing down the slopes, and which are not present in the surrounding terrain.

    The US based scientists involved in the research, which is published in the journal Nature Geoscience, say the "results strongly support the hypothesis that seasonal warm slopes are forming liquid water on contemporary Mars."

    Mars is a cold barren desert today but is thought to have been warmer and wetter billions of years ago, with a thicker atmosphere, rivers and oceans.

    Much of the planet's water is believed to have evaporated into space, but some remains locked in the polar icecaps and possibly in pockets underground.

    It is not yet clear where the water found by this study is coming from.

    One theory is that it may be absorbed from the atmosphere by the salt.

    While others think it may be the result of melting ice just under the surface or seasonal discharges from local aquifers.

    The discovery will heighten speculation about the probability of life being present on Mars.

    Back on Earth, life has been found to exist in the most harsh of locations, provided water is there too.

    The discovery also has implications for the chance of success for future human exploration of the planet, as the water could potentially be used for fuel and the survival of astronauts.

    At four locations, Palikir Crater, Horowitz Crater, Hale Crater, and Coprates Chasma - a huge Martian canyon - they found evidence of RSL salt deposits.

    The most common salts were magnesium perchlorate, magnesium chlorate and sodium perchlorate, all of which are consistent with flowing briny water.
    http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0928/730...id-water-mars/

  • #2
    I've seen tons of things from JPL about liquid water on Mars, usually arguing that the channels they see could only have been formed over thousands of years by flowing liquid water, which of course means that if there was liquid water there has to be life so send us lots of money to study this. That's their thesis here.

    However, consider...



    ... the channels in this picture. It would seem to support the argument; after all this is water. Trouble is, it's not liquid; and it's not Mars.

    That is a picture of the Lambert Glacier icefall in Antarctica.

    Ice flows. So does rock. The crystalline structure stretches unevenly and molecular bonds get stressed. Channels form. Ridges form. Some parts are stronger than others. Things erode. The surface gets thwapped by meteor impacts and volcanism. Bits fall away in chunks. An avalanche of rock and dirt can create channels indistinguishable from those created by flowing liquid water, especially in sheer cliffs like those shown in JPL's photo of Mars.

    Logically, liquid water most likely did exist on Mars for a time as the planet condensed and cooled in it initial formation; however, for the nonce, we still have no evidence that life exists on Mars or ever did and a significant body of hard scientific data to the contrary.

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    • #3
      Great information and the link which you posted has clearly explained with an video

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      • #4
        Originally posted by johnniewalk View Post
        Great information and the link which you posted has clearly explained with an video
        Johnnie, welcome to the WAB.

        When you first join the WAB we ask you to come to the following thread and introduce yourself.

        http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/sho...34#post1003734

        When you are done there go to this thread and read. It will keep you out of trouble!

        http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/showthread.php?t=46580
        “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
        Mark Twain

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        • #5
          Really it a great news that scientist found sign of river on marsh.May be some after some time scientist would also find some bacteria or virus.

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          • #6
            Is there new news about signs of a river on Mars, or just a rehash of the same ol' send-us-money campaign?

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            • #7
              Of course theres water on Mars ,,how else are the martians gonna get pissed on home brew .

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              • #8
                I'll settle for ice ... for the scotch.
                Trust me?
                I'm an economist!

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