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The surface of Mars bears imprints of structures that resemble fluvial steam systems on Earth.
Scientists therefore badume that there was enough water on the red planet to feed the streams that incised their way into the ground.
For years, however, scientists have debated the source of this water.
Water courses could be the result of runoff
The contours observed on Mars today may have been created According to scientists who found that the angles of branching valleys on the red planet were very similar to those found in arid landscapes on Earth, a study, published in Science Advances, suggests that the connecting structure of ancient river systems on Mars has striking similarities to arid landscapes.
Using the statistics of all mapped river valleys on Mars, the researchers conclude that the contours still visible today must have been created by Therefore, the influence of groundwater seepage from the ground can be excluded as a dominant process to shape these characteristics.
The distribution of the ramification angles of the valleys on Mars is very similar to those found in the arid landscapes of the Earth
This means that there must have been a similar hydrological environment with rainy episodes sporadic on Mars for a prolonged period of time and that this rain water has quickly settled on the surface.
Compare conditions on Mars with that on Earth
This is how river valleys develop in the arid regions of the Earth. For example, in Arizona, researchers observed the same valley network patterns in a landscape where astronauts train for future Martian missions. Valleys in arid regions form a narrow angle fork
The ramification angles on Mars are relatively low. Seybold, therefore, excludes the influence of groundwater as a major channel formation process on Mars.
River systems formed by re-emerging groundwater, as in Florida, for example, tend to have much wider branching angles. between the two tributaries and do not correspond to the narrow angles of the watercourses in the arid zones.
Conditions such as those found today in arid landscapes have probably prevailed on Mars for a relatively short period of time from 3.6 to 3.8 billion years. During this period, the atmosphere on Mars may have been much denser than today
Recent research shows that there had to be a lot more going on. water on Mars than what we previously believed
– says Hansjorg Seybold, professor at ETH Zurich
One hypothesis suggests that the northern third of Mars was covered by an ocean at that time. The water evaporated, condensed around high upland volcanoes south of the ocean and caused heavy rainfall.
As a result, rivers formed, which left traces still visible on Mars today. The big question is where the water is gone over time.
It is likely that most of it has evaporated into space. But it could still be found in the vicinity of Mars. This is a question for a future space mission
– said Seybold
(with contributions from PTI)
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