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Subj:Mars may have underground water reservoir
Date:8/16/01 1:36:15 AM Central Daylight Time
From:CalamariJoe42
To:Ahab42
Mars may have underground water reservoir
Wednesday, 15 August 2001 20:02 (ET)Mars may have underground water
reservoirsORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Mars may conceal giant reservoirs
ofliquid water underneath its dusty surface, which future explorers might
oneday tap for long-term expeditions on the red planet."What a perfect
medium for life on Mars," added Mars expert Bill Hartmannat the Planetary
Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz. "These findings may havehuge
implications for the search for life there."Evidence for underground
aquifers is found in decades-old pictures ofcraters taken by the Mars
Viking Orbiter, reports a research team led byNadine Barlow of the
University of Central Florida in Orlando. Thesecraters, ranging from 5 to
50 kilometers (3 to 30 miles) in diameter, wereblasted out from Martian
soil by impacts with meteors.Scientists have suggested the patterns in the
ejecta -- the debris aroundthe impact craters -- indicate the presence of
water underground."The ejecta look like a muddy slurry sort of thrown out
on the ground,"said Michael Carr of the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo
Park, Calif. "Theykind of resemble petals. This suggests that the impacts
tapped into a layerof water underneath -- either liquid or icy -- which
then flowed briefly."Barlow and her research team add that one might
determine how deep thiswater lies underground by looking at the size of
each crater. A small debrisring suggests a meteorite did not have to go far
upon impact before it hitwater.One region had a particularly unusual number
of small craters pocking itssurface -- the vast Solis and Thaumasia plains
of Mars, just south of theValles Marineris canyon system. A large ground
water reservoir capped by arelatively thin layer of ice may lie especially
close to the surface -- only110 meters (360 feet) underground."If there is
water there, and if we can get at it, that's very exciting,"Hartmann told
United Press International. "It's obviously easier to drillfor water than
to extract ice."This unusual potential concentration of near-surface ice
and water mayhave resulted from long-term, magma-driven activity that
tilted the watertable, driving water downhill from gigantic basins to the
Solis andThaumasia plains. The heat released by all this tectonic activity
would havethen kept the water liquid longer than elsewhere in the
equator."If we've still got even mild fluctuations of heat underground on
Mars, itmight even be possible to harness that heat for geothermal power
stations,"Hartmann added.Experts caution, however, that water may not prove
as abundant on Mars asthe evidence may suggest."Nothing on Mars is
certain," Carr warned in an interview with UPI. "The'petals' that these
ejecta form that might suggest water could be attributedto a completely
different cause -- atmosphere. A study by Peter Schultz atBrown University
suggests that the ejecta could get entrained in theatmosphere and form
whirling vortices that fall into petal-like formswithout the involvement of
water."Still, if there are large reservoirs of liquid water present on
Mars,Hartmann said any life that once thrived on the red planet might still
liedormant in these aquifer sanctuaries."On Earth, bacteria have
theoretically lived in a dormant state for 100million years, trapped in
salt crystals," Hartmann commented. "If you havewater around, then the
possibilities for life are dramatically increased."Barlow and her research
team are currently continuing their analysis ofthe craters using data from
the Mars Global Surveyor.The researchers reported their findings in
Geophysical Research Letters.(Reported by Charles Choi in New
York.)--Copyright 2001 by United Press International.All rights reserved.--
The romantic sounds of classic Cuban music blend with contemporary Spanish
guitar in Alicia y Yo, a new CD from Spain. Click here to listen to some
tracks and order the CD
Return to headlines.
Mars may have underground water reservoir
Wednesday, 15 August 2001 20:02 (ET)Mars may have underground water
reservoirsORLANDO, Fla., Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Mars may conceal giant reservoirs
ofliquid water underneath its dusty surface, which future explorers might
oneday tap for long-term expeditions on the red planet."What a perfect medium
for life on Mars," added Mars expert Bill Hartmannat the Planetary Science
Institute in Tucson, Ariz. "These findings may havehuge implications for the
search for life there."Evidence for underground aquifers is found in
decades-old pictures ofcraters taken by the Mars Viking Orbiter, reports a
research team led byNadine Barlow of the University of Central Florida in
Orlando. Thesecraters, ranging from 5 to 50 kilometers (3 to 30 miles) in
diameter, wereblasted out from Martian soil by impacts with
meteors.Scientists have suggested the patterns in the ejecta -- the debris
aroundthe impact craters -- indicate the presence of water underground."The
ejecta look like a muddy slurry sort of thrown out on the ground,"said
Michael Carr of the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif. "Theykind of
resemble petals. This suggests that the impacts tapped into a layerof water
underneath -- either liquid or icy -- which then flowed briefly."Barlow and
her research team add that one might determine how deep thiswater lies
underground by looking at the size of each crater. A small debrisring
suggests a meteorite did not have to go far upon impact before it
hitwater.One region had a particularly unusual number of small craters
pocking itssurface -- the vast Solis and Thaumasia plains of Mars, just south
of theValles Marineris canyon system. A large ground water reservoir capped
by arelatively thin layer of ice may lie especially close to the surface --
only110 meters (360 feet) underground."If there is water there, and if we can
get at it, that's very exciting,"Hartmann told United Press International.
"It's obviously easier to drillfor water than to extract ice."This unusual
potential concentration of near-surface ice and water mayhave resulted from
long-term, magma-driven activity that tilted the watertable, driving water
downhill from gigantic basins to the Solis andThaumasia plains. The heat
released by all this tectonic activity would havethen kept the water liquid
longer than elsewhere in the equator."If we've still got even mild
fluctuations of heat underground on Mars, itmight even be possible to harness
that heat for geothermal power stations,"Hartmann added.Experts caution,
however, that water may not prove as abundant on Mars asthe evidence may
suggest."Nothing on Mars is certain," Carr warned in an interview with UPI.
"The'petals' that these ejecta form that might suggest water could be
attributedto a completely different cause -- atmosphere. A study by Peter
Schultz atBrown University suggests that the ejecta could get entrained in
theatmosphere and form whirling vortices that fall into petal-like
formswithout the involvement of water."Still, if there are large reservoirs
of liquid water present on Mars,Hartmann said any life that once thrived on
the red planet might still liedormant in these aquifer sanctuaries."On Earth,
bacteria have theoretically lived in a dormant state for 100million years,
trapped in salt crystals," Hartmann commented. "If you havewater around, then
the possibilities for life are dramatically increased."Barlow and her
research team are currently continuing their analysis ofthe craters using
data from the Mars Global Surveyor.The researchers reported their findings in
Geophysical Research Letters.(Reported by Charles Choi in New
York.)--Copyright 2001 by United Press International.All rights reserved.--
The romantic sounds of classic Cuban music blend with contemporary Spanish
guitar in Alicia y Yo, a new CD from Spain. Click here to listen to some
tracks and order the CD
Return to headlines.
