Research has revealed that thousands of hills and mounds on Mars contain layers of clay minerals, indicating the presence of liquid water on the planet in the past. This suggests a significantly different climate on Mars billions of years ago.
Joe McNeil from the Natural History Museum in London stated, “The mounds rich in clay minerals point to the existence of abundant liquid water nearly four billion years ago.”
Mars has contrasting features, with ancient highlands in the south and eroded low-lying plains in the north, where evidence suggests a former large body of water existed. This indicates a warmer and wetter Mars with rivers, lakes, and potentially oceans billions of years ago.
Further evidence for a northern sea on Mars has been found by researchers studying more than 15,000 mounds and hills containing clay minerals. These findings were supported by data from various space missions.
The Martian buttes and mesas studied by McNeil’s team demonstrate layered deposits of clay minerals that were formed during a specific wet period in Mars’ history. This period, known as the Noachian era, spanned between 4.2 and 3.7 billion years ago and was characterized by the presence of liquid water on Mars.
McNeil’s team’s findings provide valuable insights into Mars’ geological history and the presence of water on the planet. The upcoming Rosalind Franklin rover mission by the European Space Agency could potentially uncover further evidence for past life on Mars.
The study detailing these findings was published in the journal Nature Geoscience on January 20.
