Despite its Intense Heat, Mercury May Harbor Polar Glaciers

Discovering subterranean salt glaciers at the north pole of the scorching planet Mercury might seem as improbable as locating a ski resort in the Amazon, yet a team of scientists from the Planetary Science Institute asserts they have uncovered supporting evidence for this phenomenon.

Mercury is renowned for its extreme heat, being the closest planet to the Sun. With a daytime surface temperature reaching 800 °F (230 °C), it lacks an atmosphere or magnetic field, making it appear as desolate and arid as one can imagine.

Concealed Glaciers at Mercury’s North Pole Defy Initial Beliefs

However, this assumption may not hold true. Concealed glaciers may exist at the north pole of Mercury, having persisted for over a billion years, with signs of their existence revealed through subsequent asteroid impacts.

The team argues that glaciers are more prevalent in the solar system than previously believed, citing the nitrogen glaciers discovered on Pluto by NASA’s New Horizons deep-space probe as an example. The glaciers on Mercury are believed to have originated in the planet’s ancient history when water seeped up from its core during a period of volcanic activity. As the water reached the frozen subsurface polar region, it created shallow seas interacting with salt flows, eventually forming hidden glaciers, as indicated by computer models based on data from NASA’s MESSENGER orbiter.

The persistently cold subsurface temperatures trace back to an era when the early Mercury possessed an atmosphere. This atmosphere shielded the poles from the Sun, enabling the formation of liquid water and the subsequent stabilization of frozen regions below the surface.

Volatile Rich Layers (VRLs) and Sublimation Pits in Mercury’s Polar Region

As per the team’s findings, these Volatile Rich Layers (VRLs) led to distinct geological formations in the shape of sublimation pits. These pits are remnants left behind when the exposed salty ice transformed into gas upon encountering the vacuum of Mercury’s surface due to asteroid impacts. Notably, these pits were identified within craters but not in close proximity to their rims, providing support for the hypothesis that they were uncovered through impacts.

Should this hypothesis prove valid, it could impact the quest for extraterrestrial life as these saline glaciers might provide a habitat for certain microbial life forms. While the conditions may be too harsh for typical microbes, it could potentially support extremophiles akin to those found in specific environments on Earth, such as the Atacama Desert, the Dead Sea, and hot springs.

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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