Traces of liquid water flowing on Mars may be inaccurate

Scientists conclude that the dark lines on Mars are just flowing or dust instead of water as previously thought.

The research team at the US Geological Survey (USGS) identified these as merely signs of flowing sand or dust in an article published in the journal Nature Geoscience on November 20.

The dark grooves on the mountainside are not the result of flowing water on the red planet.(Photo: NASA).

Earlier, the US Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced it had "the best evidence" that liquid water flowed on the Martian surface in 2015. These were dark salt-laden grooves combined with water. liquid, seasonal appearance on red planet, according to Science Alert.

"This new understanding supports other evidence that today's Martian climate is very dry," said Colin Dundas, the study's lead author.

Dundas and colleagues examined images of dozens of dark grooves at various locations. They found that they existed only on very steep slopes and did not look like flowing water. In addition, all grooves seem to end when their angle of inclination coincides with the dynamic rest angle - the largest angle at which matter can pile without collapsing.

If you've ever tried to build a sand castle, you probably know this concept. That's why dry sand with shallow resting corners tends to slip out of its original shape. But wet sand with a steeper angle can be built into small towers.

Alfred McEwen, co-author of the study, said the grooves are not created by water. They were like dry sand grains sliding down the sides of a collapsing sand castle. Trenches often occur in hot seasons and contain perchlorate molecules.