New Clues Suggest A Hidden Ocean Of Water Buried Beneath Mars

Growing evidence suggests that a hidden secret beneath Mars‘ dusty red plains could change our understanding of the planet: a massive reservoir of liquid water, buried deep within its crust.

Mars, dotted with remnants of ancient water, has fascinated scientists as they unravel the mystery of what happened when the planet became cold and dry.

Our latest study might provide a solution.NASA’s InSight data show seismic waves slow down between 5.4 and 8 km below the surface, likely due to liquid water.

The enigma of the vanishing water

Mars was not always the lifeless desert it is now. Billions of years ago, during the Noachian and Hesperian periods (4.1 to 3 billion years ago), rivers created valleys and lakes sparkled across the surface.

As Mars’ magnetic field weakened and its atmosphere thinned, much of the surface water disappeared. Some escaped into space, some froze in the polar caps, and some became trapped in minerals.

However, evaporation, freezing, and minerals don’t fully explain all the water that once covered Mars. Estimates suggest the ‘missing’ water could form an ocean on Mars, at least 700 meters deep, possibly up to 900 meters.

One theory is that the missing water infiltrated the crust. “During the Noachian period, meteorites struck Mars, possibly creating fractures that directed water underground.”

Far below the surface, higher temperatures would have kept the water in liquid form, unlike the frozen layers closer to the surface.

A seismic image of Mars’ crust

In 2018, NASA’s InSight lander landed on Mars to study the planet’s interior using an extremely sensitive seismometer.

By analyzing a specific type of vibration known as “shear waves,” we discovered a notable underground irregularity: a layer located 5.4 to 8 kilometers beneath the surface where these vibrations travel more slowly.

This ‘low-velocity layer’ likely consists of highly porous rock saturated with liquid water, similar to a sponge. It resembles Earth’s aquifers, where groundwater fills the pores of the rock.

We estimated that the “aquifer layer” on Mars could contain enough water to form a global ocean 520–780 meters deep, which is several times the amount of water found in Antarctica’s ice sheet.

This volume aligns with estimates of Mars’ “missing” water (710–920 meters), once losses to space, water trapped in minerals, and current ice caps are taken into account.

Meteorite impacts and marsquakes

Our discovery was made possible by two meteorite impacts in 2021 (S1000a and S1094b) and a marsquake in 2022 (S1222a). These events generated seismic waves that traveled through the crust, like ripples from a stone dropped in a pond.

Growing evidence suggests a hidden secret beneath Mars‘ dusty red plains: a vast reservoir of liquid water, trapped deep within the crust, that could change our understanding of the Red Planet.

Mars is marked by remnants of ancient bodies of water, but the mystery of where it all went as the planet became cold and dry has fascinated scientists for years.

We computed “receiver functions,” which are patterns of these waves as they reflect and reverberate between layers in the crust, similar to echoes mapping a cave. These patterns allow us to identify boundaries where rock properties shift, uncovering a water-saturated layer 5.4 to 8 kilometers below the surface.

The significance of this

Liquid water is crucial for life as we understand it. On Earth, microbes thrive in deep, water-saturated rock.

Could similar life forms, possibly remnants of ancient Martian ecosystems, survive in these underground reservoirs? There’s only one way to find out.

The water could also be vital for more complex life, including future human explorers. When purified, it could provide drinking water, oxygen, or even fuel for rockets.

While drilling kilometers deep on a distant planet presents significant challenges, our data, gathered near Mars’ equator, suggests there may be other water-rich areas, such as the icy mud reservoir in Utopia Planitia.

What lies ahead for Mars exploration?

Our seismic data represents just a small portion of Mars. Additional missions equipped with seismometers are necessary to map potential water layers throughout the entire planet.

Read the original article on: Sciencealert

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