A new study published in PNAS has made a significant discovery about ancient oceans on Mars. The research, led by Jianhui Li from Guangzhou University in China, and involving the Chinese National Space Administration’s Mars rover Zhurong, has found evidence of beach deposits from an ancient Martian ocean.
The findings are based on data collected by Zhurong near a proposed shoreline billions of years old. The researchers claim to have identified characteristic layers of sediment that match those deposited along the margin of oceans on Earth. Ground penetrating radar revealed these layers, which dip shallowly into the basin away from the paleoshoreline, consistent with how sediments are deposited in oceans.
The discovery suggests that Mars had a stable surface water environment longer than previously thought. The Noachian period, from 4.1 to 3.7 billion years ago, is characterized as a wet Mars, but there was less evidence for surface water during the Hesperian period. However, the Zhurong rover findings imply that surface water may have lasted into the Late Hesperian period, potentially allowing habitable environments around an ocean to extend to more recent times.
This discovery has significant implications for understanding the history of life on Mars and the planet’s potential for supporting life in the past.
Source: https://theconversation.com/scientists-have-discovered-a-3-billion-year-old-beach-buried-on-mars-250496