For decades, many scientists had a hypothesis that the northern hemisphere of Mars was the site of a vast ocean billions of years ago. Now, data analyzed from the onboard cameras and ground penetrating radar from China’s Zhurong Mars rover suggest several water-related features, including hydrated silica, sediment channels, troughs, and a mud volcano. They found areas that were heavily silted, creating a layering structure of deposits.
Scientists interpret this to suggest that the rover’s landing area contains evidence of an ancient coastline, reported LiveScience on Nov. 16. Bo Wu at Hong Kong Polytechnic University and his colleagues estimate that the ocean existed 3.68 billion years ago, but dried out about 260 million years later, according to their report published on Nov. 7 in Nature. They also believe that the ocean was frozen for at least 10,000 years. Some of that water may have gone underground. For the first time they have not only discovered further evidence of a Martian ocean, but also described its possible evolution.
However, these scientists warn that without a detailed analysis of these soil and rock samples performed within a laboratory on Earth many of their findings cannot be proven. Skeptics have also questioned whether any traces of evidence would still remain after these many years of erosion, yet many scientists from around the world are confident in the findings.
