Despite their huge differences, Earth and Mars may have been shaped by the same forces and cold processes.
Satellite images show that Mars’s soil has geometric patterns similar to those observed in cold areas of the Earth, suggesting that the two planets share evolutionary processes.
The wavy shapes observed in Mars craters have a surprising similarity to the wave patterns found in cold and mountainous regions of the earth, such as the Arctic and the Rocky Mountains.
Despite the differences between the two planets, this similarity suggests that Mars and Earth may have been shaped by some of the same forces and natural processes linked to the cold.
What the images show
The team analyzed high resolution satellite images of nine Martian craters. In comparing these images with similar structures of the earth, the researchers found geometric standards identical to those of the so -called lobes of – Relief shapes that form on cold slopes when the soil freezes and thaws repeatedly.
According to researcher Alexander Sleiman Glade, these standards are “Large, granular and slow examples of common patterns found in everyday fluids such as paint draining by a wall.”
Despite the similarities, there is a remarkable difference: the lobes ofsoliflutation Martians are, on average, 2.6 times higher than those of the earth.
According to the study authors, this is due to Less severity of Mars and the properties of the soilthat allow these structures to grow longer before they collapse.
Freeze and defrost… without liquid water
On Earth, the Lobules of Solifluction are formed when the soil freezes and partially thawswhich allows it to slowly slide through the slope.
In the case of Mars, scientists suggest that a similar process may have occurred, but not by liquid water action – but by sublimation, where ice passes directly to the gaseous state.
Clues about Mars’s climate past
This discovery can provide valuable clues about the climate of Mars and on environments that may have been habitable.
In revealing that the planet may have gone through thermal cycles that shaped its relief, scientists open the way to new hypotheses about the presence of water and the possible existence of life.
“Understanding how these standards form provides important information about Mars’s climate history, especially the possibility of past freezing and defrosting cycles,” said Sleiman Glade.
Will be necessary More research to determine whether these characteristics have recently graduated or a long time ago.
“Ultimately, this investigation can help us identify clues about past or present environments in other planets that may support-or limit-life.”
