While there's long been speculation about the existence of liquid water on Mars in the distant past, a new paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience "strongly suggests" there are seasonal briny flows on the Red Planet right now.
Since 2011, scientists have speculated about the nature of darkened narrow streaks known as "Recurring Slope Lineae" (RSL) spotted on slopes of craters, canyons, and mountains around the Martian equator. The RSL appear to grow during the extremes of the Martian summer and disappear the rest of the year. One of the prevailing theories has been that these streaks are the result of liquid water seeping out from some subterranean source, but there was no direct proof—until now.
Utilizing the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO), researchers have confirmed the existence of hydrated salts in the RSL. According to scientists quoted by the New York Times, "there pretty much has to have been liquid water recently present to produce the hydrated salt."
The exact source of these reuccuring briny summer waters is still not exactly understood. Researchers suggest they may be the result of a local aquifer, or they may even be meteorological or chemical in origin (or there may even be completely different mechanism for different RSL).
Scientists have found indirect proof for liquid water lakes, rivers, and maybe even oceans in the far distant Martian past, however the contemporary Martian surface is—for the most part—a frustratingly dry wasteland covered in orange rocks. Researchers still aren't sure where all those oceans of liquid water went, but this new evidence strongly indicates that Mars still contains reserves of water that we have not yet detected.
And there may be a lot more.
The RSL were found in high-resolution photos taken by the MRO. So far, scientists have only been able to map around 4 percent of the Martian surface with this sort of unparalleled detail. That means that there are potentially even more of these features for scientists to discover. Time will tell.
These findings are important for two reasons: The first is that it keeps the door open to the possibility of discovering Martian life. We should reiterate that there has still been NO direct proof of Martian life, however just about anywhere liquid water has been found on Earth, we have also found some form of life. The second is that as our water-dependent species ventures out to Mars, the potential existence of a substantiative amound of water makes the prospect of creating a home in this alien environment all the more possible.
This is big stuff!
Source: pcmag.com
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