Monthly Archives: November 2011

Valley networks were eroded quckly

Posted on November 22, 2011 by rburnham

Networks of valleys cross much of the ancient surface of Mars, and along with deltas and other features these all show that the environment once warm and wet enough to sustain liquid water at the surface. But when? And for … Continue reading →

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When Apollinaris Patera went boom

Posted on November 16, 2011 by rburnham

Stretching more than 5,000 kilometers (3,000 miles) between the two volcanic centers of Tharsis and Elysium is a geological enigma, the Medusae Fossae formation. The formation, which lies in several separate patches, appears to be made of easily eroded materials, … Continue reading →

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Martian surface: icy, cold, and dry for 4 billion years

Posted on November 4, 2011 by rburnham

Maybe the warm and wet environment on early Mars that scientists have long proposed wasn’t at the surface, but rather buried in the crust. That’s one of the conclusions of a new review that looks at Martian clay minerals and … Continue reading →

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Elysium’s eruptive history

Posted on November 1, 2011 by rburnham

Elysium is Mars’ second-largest volcanic province after Tharsis. A new study by Thomas Platz and Gregory Michael (Freie Universität Berlin) published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters (October 30, 2011) counts craters on its volcanos and the main lava flows … Continue reading →

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