During the 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference conducted in the Woodlands, Texas, scientists announced the discovery of an archaic glacier close to Mars' equator.
Glacier Near Mars' Equator
EurekAlert reports that the glacier remains are located at coordinates 7° 33' S, 93° 14' W in Eastern Noctis Labyrinthus. Such findings are valuable because they imply that surface water ice could be present on Mars, even close to the red planet's equator. It further raises the possibility that ice may be present in shallow regions of the area. This may have vital implications for the exploration of humans.
The relict glacier is among several LTDs (Light-Toned Deposits) spotted in the area. According to Phys, LTDs usually consist of sulfate salts that have light colors. However, this deposit also demonstrates various glacier features, such as moraine bands and crevasse fields.
Specialists estimate that the glacier has a length of six kilometers and a width of four kilometers. Its elevation ranges from +1.3 up to +1.7 kilometers.
The discovery suggests that the recent history of the red planet may have been more watery than thought. This may, in turn, impact current understanding regarding the habitability of the planet.
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Salt Deposits
Dr. Pascal Lee, the study's lead author and a planetary scientist from the Mars Institute and SETI Institute, says that what they have spotted is not ice but a salt deposit that has intricate glacier morphological characteristics. They think that, atop the glacier, salt forms while keeping the below ice's shape.
Volcanic materials blanketing the area offer clues regarding how the salt sulfate may have formed and preserved the imprint of the glacier. When pyroclastic materials that freshly erupted get in contact with water ice, salt sulfates, like the ones that are typically found in Martian LTDs, may build up into a crusty and hardened layer of salt.
Sourabh Shubham, the study's co-author and a graduate student from the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland, explains that the specific Martian region has a history of volcanic activity. When the volcanic materials got into contact with ice, some chemical reactions may have taken place. This is the likeliest explanation for the hydroxylated and hydrated sulfates that were observed within the LTD.
As time passed, erosion erased the volcanic materials blanketing the area, and the sulfate layer that mirrored the below-glacier ice got exposed. This explains the visibility of the salt deposit and the presentation of distinct features, such as the moraine bands and crevasses.
According to Mars Institute geologist John Chutt, while glaciers usually have unique features, such as tic-tac-toe, splaying, and marginal crevasses, and while they also thrust foliation and moraine bands, analogous characteristics are observed in the LTD's scale, location, and form. This makes the discovery quite intriguing.
Dr. Lee also adds that finding a young relict glacier in the specific region reveals how the red planet experienced the presence of surface ice recently, even close to the equator. This is something quite new.
Water Ice May Still Be Present
It is still a mystery whether the water ice underneath the LTD was indeed preserved or had completely disappeared. Currently, water ice is not very stable across the Martian equator's surface at such elevations. Hence, it is not a surprise that the scientists were unable to pick up any water ice on the surface levels.
There is a possibility that the water ice is gone by now. However, there is also a chance that some of the water ice could be preserved under the salt deposit.
The research forms an analogy with prehistoric areas on the Altiplano's salt lakebeds in South America. In this area, older glacier ice stayed protected from sublimation, evaporation, and melting beneath bright stars. Lee and his colleagues hypothesize that this may similarly explain how Martian salt sulfates could safeguard the vulnerable ice at low latitudes.
If water ice is indeed preserved, this may impact human and scientific explorations. However, more work needs to be done. If this is confirmed and if other LTDs have substrates rich in ice, the scientists may need to look into the quantity of present water ice.
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