Is Clay on Mars Disguised as Lakes? - The Cosmic Companion 30 July 2021
Three new studies suggest that clay - not underground lakes - may be the cause of radar reflections seen in 2018.
Is clay on Mars responsible for signs of lakes beneath the surface at the polar regions of Mars?
In 2018, researchers led by Roberto Orosei of ’ Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica in Italy released their findings of data from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express orbiter.
Radar waves are capable of passing through rock and ice, and by studying how the waves change as they do so, researchers can learn about geology under a planetary surface. These radar images of Mars suggested an intriguing possibility — that Mars, the most Earth-like of all worlds in our solar system, might hold lakes of liquid water beneath its polar caps.
New examination of the South Polar Layered Deposits’ (SPLD) on Mars, however, suggests these hints of liquid water beneath the Martian surface may be the result of clay on Mars.
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