Previous Evidence of Water on Mars Now Identified as Grainflows

https://www.usgs.gov/news/previous-evidence-water-mars-now-identified-grainflows

by lnguyen • 9 years ago

186 46 9 years ago

kamac• 9 years ago

This new research finds that these RSL features are flows of granular material and thus, align with the long-standing hypothesis that the surface of Mars lacks flowing water. Small amounts of water could still be involved in their initiation in some fashion, as hydrated minerals have been detected at some RSL locations. The authors conclude that liquid on present-day Mars may be limited to traces of dissolved moisture from the atmosphere and thin films of water.

So, this article says there's no water on the surface of Mars, rather than underneath it.

Though it looks like this suggests that water beneath the surface is unlikely to be there as well?

drxzcl• 9 years ago

Liquid water anyway. We know there is a lot of water ice locked into glaciers on mountain slopes etc.

nieve• 9 years ago

It's interesting that the release doesn't address the seasonality of the effect unless it falls under the possible initiation handwave. Is there some other temperature dependent effect on such flows?

misja111• 9 years ago

Actually the seasonality is addressed:

"The preference for warm seasons and the detection of hydrated salts are consistent with some role for water in their initiation. However, liquid water volumes may be small or zero, .."

baldfat• 9 years ago

Is it like the Sailing Stones we have observed in the desert but with grains of sand?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_stones

japhyr• 9 years ago

Those rocks move because they're carried by thin ice sheets every once in a while:

rocks move when large ice sheets a few millimeters thick floating in an ephemeral winter pond start to break up during sunny days. These thin floating ice panels, frozen during cold winter nights, are driven by wind and shove rocks at up to 5 m/min.

jbreckmckye• 9 years ago

What would it mean for us if Mars were without water or life?

sillysaurus3• 9 years ago

We'll bring both.

donatj• 9 years ago

How do you propose we relocate any significant volume of water?

api• 9 years ago

This isn't saying Mars has no water. They've found that one particular instance of what they thought was liquid water turns out to not be, but there is tons of evidence for water ice and possibly deep sub-surface briny water.

Mars likely does not have life at the surface. Too much cosmic radiation. It may not have life at all but if it does it would be beneath the surface or in deep caves.

imglorp2• 9 years ago

If there is no subsurface ice anywhere, I think the SpaceX colonizing team might have a challenge. It seems their current plan is to dig tunnels in suspected ice areas, processing the soil to extract water to electrolyze for fuel and air, then using the tunnels and castings for housing. Bringing all the fuel, air, and water from Earth is probably a no-go.

zipwitch• 9 years ago

Wait- SpaceX is planning to tunnel on Mars? That means the Boring Company... Is everything Musk does part of his not-secret secret plan to retire on Mars?

JumpCrisscross• 9 years ago

We're more likely to become an advanced civilization [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Filter

hanoz• 9 years ago

What was it that made them think it was water rather than grain flows in the first place, on this dry grainy planet?

byebyetech• 9 years ago

Did they simply went with the visual look of it? Probably did some simulations on a computer and compared and decided its water. I would be shocked by such low quality of Science behind it if that was the case. Extra ordinary claims require extra ordinary evidence.

lawlessone2• 9 years ago

Problem is if they actually suspect it's water they aren't allowed to bring their rovers or probes anywhere near as they don't want to risk contaminating it with Earth microorganisms.

dang• 9 years ago

Please don't post obvious dismissals of other people's work unless you have some specific knowledge about it.

There's nothing more lowering of discussion quality otherwise; it's like a snake in snakes and ladders.

mturmon• 9 years ago

See section 4.1 [page 909] of this report: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David_Beaty/publication...

The main driver is that the flows seem to be associated with seasonally higher temperatures, and therefore the flows ("RSL") may be caused by a melting brine. RSLs have been controversial and they have gotten a lot of attention from planetary scientists.

ringaroundthetx• 9 years ago

wishful thinking

also an isotope in the sand would have allowed water to stay flowing at the below freezing temperatures that mars has, so if you were grasping for straws at why there would be water, this would support it, but if you weren't wishing there was water there as the presupposition then this new answer would have been more immediately obvious

lerie82• 9 years ago

I think it's funny they say it's a new theory that mars didnt have water.

Previous Evidence of Water on Mars Now Identified as Grainflows

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