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The contours observed on Mars today may have been created by runoff, say scientists who found that the ramification angles of the valleys on the red planet were very similar to those found in arid landscapes on earth. Mars carries imprints of structures that resemble river steam systems on Earth.
Scientists badume, therefore, that there must have been enough water on the red planet to feed the streams that have their way into the ground.
For years, however, scientists have been debating the source of this water. A study, published in Science Advances, suggests that the branching structure of ancient river systems on Mars has striking similarities to arid landscapes.
Using statistics from all river valleys mapped on Mars, the researchers conclude that the contours still visible today must have been created by the superficial runoff of rainwater.
Therefore, the influence of groundwater seepage from the ground can be ruled out as the dominant process for shaping these features.
valleys on Mars is very similar to those found in the arid landscapes of the Earth.
This implies that there must have been a similar hydrological environment With abundant and sporadic rains on Mars for an extended period of time, this rain water quickly flowed to the surface of the valleys networks.
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 the main channel-forming process on Mars.
River systems formed by re-emerging groundwater, as in Florida, for example, tend to have much wider branching angles. two tributaries and do not correspond to the narrow angles of watercourses in arid areas.
Conditions such as those found today in arid terrestrial landscapes have probably prevailed on Mars only for a relatively short period of about 3.6 to 3 , 8 billion years old. this period, the atmosphere on Mars could be much denser than it is today.
"Recent research shows that there must have been a lot more water on Mars than previously thought," says Hansjorg Seybold, a professor at ETH Zurich. 19659002] 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," says Seybold.
not edited by Business Standard staff and is generated automatically from a syndicated feed.)
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