A possible glacier has been discovered on Mars, and puzzle experts

A new study published in the journal Icarus found possible signs of glaciers and glacial activity on a Martian plain known as Arcadia Planitia, which bears a striking resemblance to the ice currents in the Antarctic ice caps.

According to Shannon Hibbard, a doctoral student at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, who led the new research, the newly discovered flow characteristics are strange because they occur on flat ground.

“There’s a lot of evidence that it’s an ice-rich area, but we don’t have any significant topographic relief that occurs where these meandering features are found. They exist on a fairly flat plain, so it was quite strange. “, dijo Hibbard al Live Science portal.

His team studied observations from several different instruments, as well as orbit photographs and thermal data, in an attempt to identify the sinuous features of the lowlands of the plain. “Ice currents are something that could be on Mars and could suggest that glacial processes have occurred more complexes on Mars, which I think is really interesting, ”Hibbard said.

If there is ice not too deep below the surface of the plain, in future Martian missions the astronauts could have a source of water. Hibbard suggests that “it would be an interesting place to land not only because of the accessibility of water ice and the abundance of water ice, but also because of its scientific value ”, as published RT.