The old Mars contains many lakes, according to a study

Scientists have known for some time that Mars was lukewarm and humid. It contained a lot of liquid water. However, there are between 4.2 and 3.7 billion years ago, most of the atmosphere of Mars was lost in space. This process has gradually transformed the Martian surface into a cold and arid place that we know today.

A region northeast of the Hellas Impact Basin was home to some of Mars' most spectacular ephemeral lakes. Located in the southern hemisphere, the Hellas Basin is approximately 2,200 km wide and is the largest and oldest basin of impact on the surface of Mars. A recent analysis of Hellas' impact suggests that its paleolakes (previously existing lakes) contained water from a variety of sources including precipitation, river transport, and groundwater. The region exhibits interesting patterns of depression likely resulting from the flow of materials. The depressions were filled with sediment during the course of history.

"We found several groups of paleolakes with different geological histories along each drainage system. Some of the entrance channels and their deposits are similar to those produced by flash floods, "said lead author Henrik I. Hargitai. "Some of these floods may have even had catastrophic magnitudes (about 105-106 m3 / s) similar to those that formed Channeled Channels in eastern Washington State, while morphology of other canals and valleys suggests discharges more similar to those of Mississippi. "

The 34 new Martian candidate paleolakes are detected through a detailed hydrogeographic analysis of the northeastern region of Hellas. The area was previously suspected to be the drainage basin of a single paleolake. The results indicate that Mars was once a much wetter place than today and that some of its areas regularly harbored many lakes throughout its history, suggesting that Mars may have been able to support life in the past .