Searching for water in Martian deserts
by Helen Margerison
The search for water on Mars has identified a giant, 450m high, dune in the Kaiser Crater on the Southern Hemisphere of the red planet that may contain the equivalent of 25 000 bathtubs of water.
This is one of several recent scientific discoveries that suggest that water may in fact be a lot more common on Mars than previously thought.
If this turns out to be the case, these discoveries may provide a source of water and fuel for future landings on Mars. They could also open up wider possibilities for the existence of life on this isolated planet.
Sand dunes and deserts might be the last place you would think to look for water, but this is exactly where Dr. Mary Bourke from the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona began her search. In geological terms, Dr Bourke has hit the jackpot.
Water was originally discovered on Mars about four years ago, in the two isolated locations at the most northerly and southerly points of the planet, which correspond with the location of the two Martian ice caps.
Mary Bourke began to look at the Martian landscape after working in Antarctica. Her experience there led her to look at the Martian landscape in a different light, and her search for water began to move beyond the Martian ice caps.
Within the Dry Valleys of East Antarctica, one of the coldest and driest places on earth, Dr Bourke discovered things that looked remarkably similar to geomorphic structures observed on satellite images of Mars. ‘It is incredible how similar the Antarctic and Martian landscapes appear to be,’ she explained.
Victoria Valley in East Antarctica where the Martian-like features can be found, is strangely an ice-free area that provides geologists with a window into the world below the ice. It is here that Dr Bourke discovered frozen sand dunes amazingly preserved in this harsh landscape. Wind speeds in this area can reach up to 250km per hour but the dunes are held together by snow and ice and can therefore survive the harsh conditions.
Satellite images of Mars have revealed huge dune fields which, on closer inspection, are remarkably similar to those in Antarctica. Knowing the Antarctic dunes she had studied were an abundant source of frozen water, Dr Bourke was convinced that the similar looking features on Mars would contain water.
By examining Gamma ray images of Martian dunes, it is possible to detect the amount of hydrogen, and thus the amount of water at the surface of the red planet. On further examination, Dr Bourke discovered that the areas where high hydrogen concentrations were found corresponded directly with huge dune fields on Mars.
‘These dunes on Mars are approximately 50 per cent water,’ said Dr Burke.
And it is with this kind of discovery that the search for life on Mars or even a human trip to the red planet may be a lot closer than we thought.
The search for water on Mars has identified a giant, 450m high, dune in the Kaiser Crater on the Southern Hemisphere of the red planet that may contain the equivalent of 25 000 bathtubs of water.
This is one of several recent scientific discoveries that suggest that water may in fact be a lot more common on Mars than previously thought.
If this turns out to be the case, these discoveries may provide a source of water and fuel for future landings on Mars. They could also open up wider possibilities for the existence of life on this isolated planet.
Sand dunes and deserts might be the last place you would think to look for water, but this is exactly where Dr. Mary Bourke from the Planetary Science Institute in Arizona began her search. In geological terms, Dr Bourke has hit the jackpot.
Water was originally discovered on Mars about four years ago, in the two isolated locations at the most northerly and southerly points of the planet, which correspond with the location of the two Martian ice caps.
Mary Bourke began to look at the Martian landscape after working in Antarctica. Her experience there led her to look at the Martian landscape in a different light, and her search for water began to move beyond the Martian ice caps.
Within the Dry Valleys of East Antarctica, one of the coldest and driest places on earth, Dr Bourke discovered things that looked remarkably similar to geomorphic structures observed on satellite images of Mars. ‘It is incredible how similar the Antarctic and Martian landscapes appear to be,’ she explained.
Victoria Valley in East Antarctica where the Martian-like features can be found, is strangely an ice-free area that provides geologists with a window into the world below the ice. It is here that Dr Bourke discovered frozen sand dunes amazingly preserved in this harsh landscape. Wind speeds in this area can reach up to 250km per hour but the dunes are held together by snow and ice and can therefore survive the harsh conditions.
Satellite images of Mars have revealed huge dune fields which, on closer inspection, are remarkably similar to those in Antarctica. Knowing the Antarctic dunes she had studied were an abundant source of frozen water, Dr Bourke was convinced that the similar looking features on Mars would contain water.
By examining Gamma ray images of Martian dunes, it is possible to detect the amount of hydrogen, and thus the amount of water at the surface of the red planet. On further examination, Dr Bourke discovered that the areas where high hydrogen concentrations were found corresponded directly with huge dune fields on Mars.
‘These dunes on Mars are approximately 50 per cent water,’ said Dr Burke.
And it is with this kind of discovery that the search for life on Mars or even a human trip to the red planet may be a lot closer than we thought.
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