Melting Snow and the Gullies of Mars
Explanation:
Tantalizing
images of gullies on Mars have offered striking evidence for
recent flows of liquid water.
But
Mars is too cold and its atmosphere
too thin for
liquid water to exist
on the surface.
Still a new and compelling
explanation for gullies carved by liquid water was
inspired by this
recently
released image from the
Mars
Odyssey spacecraft.
Pictured
is a section of what is likely a snow covered crater in the
Martian southern hemisphere.
North is at the top and the scene, illuminated from the left,
is about 16 kilometers wide.
Patches of smooth snow pack remain along the northern crater wall,
while structures resembling the famous
Martian gullies appear
to be emerging as the snow cover gradually disappears, and are
exposed along the crater's western (left) wall.
Melting snow, running underneath the snow pack and
down the crater walls would be protected from the extreme surface
conditions, remaining liquid and eroding the
gullies over time.
Could life exist
in a liquid water environment beneath the Martian
snow?
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
