Antarctic research helps explain climate change on Mars

Researchers look at photographs of trenches on the volcanic flank of Mars that indicate that the trenches formed several hundred thousand years ago, in former glaciers. This feature is very similar to those formed in McMurdo Dry Valley in Antarctica.

A similar feature between Mars trenches and McMurdo dry valley in Antarctica was discovered by technology and high resolution images from satellites orbiting Mars, observing the geological characteristics of the planet. .

The trench on Mars originates from high-pitched stations on the inner wall of the crater opposite the pole, especially Newton's volcano, 40 ° South, used in research. In addition to features that look like ring stations, the evidence shows that the traces of glaciers, including bowls of land that form a bowl with lacing lobes, mucus lines that extend to the volcanic shelf. 'Bowl-shaped settlements that reflect the existence of fairly pure glaciers , ' said David R. Marchant, professor of Earth Sciences at Boston University, co-author of the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences numbered on August 25, along with major author James W. Head of Brown University, and Mikhail A. Kreslavsky, of the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Because climatic conditions on Mars change in the direction of reducing snowfall, clean ice on volcanic walls sublimates, forming pits, while ice rocks contain debris on the volcanic shelf surrounded by pieces. crumbles and does not evaporate completely.

Even when the last glacier disappears, the amount of snowfall is still not much. Marchant said: 'These late snowfall can accumulate a hole in the volcanic wall and, according to the microclimate model, dissolve to form the grooves that we observe'.

The oblique view of the grooves, lobed subsidence, and slurry flow along the walls and Newtonian volcanic shelf, combined from high resolution images of CTX cameras on satellites to spy on Mars and survey data Location on Mars.(Photo: National Academy of Sciences, PNAS).

He continued: 'This result is very interesting because they show the spatial link between the trenches and the accumulation of glaciers, reinforcing the theory that the surface of the ice melts gradually into a flow, forming the groove on Mars'.

Other possible processes include the flow of dry debris and the melting of shallow ice blocks on the ground. However, the sequence of events that illustrate the phenomenon of recent snowfall on Newton's volcano shows that the surface of melted snow ridges is a suitable option. In fact, both Marchant and Head observed similar processes when studying the development of trenches in the coldest and driest areas of Antarctica.

The authors concluded that changing the speed of Newton's snow accumulation could be related to a change in the rotation of Mars's rotation. With a greater inclination than the inclination specified for the freezing of Newton's volcano, the authors identified larger-scale glaciers near the equator, above and extending beyond the Tharsis volcano.

Evidence shows the relationship between tilt, the equatorial freezing and the formation of trenches on Mars. The data is completely new to the climate change on Mars, as well as the recent freezing and forming periods of melting ice, like the freezing and grooving process in the coldest mountains. and driest Antarctica.

NASA and the National Science Foundation funded the research