Tag Archives: climate

Shifting sands

Posted on December 1, 2011 by rburnham

Sand — in wind-blown ripples, drifts, and dunes — lies all over Mars. But it poses a puzzle because the current atmosphere is too thin (less than 1% of Earth’s) to move that much sand around. So researchers in the … Continue reading →

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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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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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Jarosite: key to ancient temperatures?

Posted on October 21, 2011 by rburnham

The water-related mineral jarosite is occurs both on Earth and in sediments on Meridiani Planum, Mars. Scientists have found that by measuring the isotope ratio of argon-40 to argon-39 in the rock — a technique that can be applied to … Continue reading →

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Did lake-effect storms make Martian snowbelts?

Posted on October 15, 2011 by rburnham

Numerous places on Mars show erosion by precipitation, whether as rainfall or runoff from melting snow. The precipitation could have come from a thicker atmosphere or a temporary boost in atmospheric temperature and density following a large impact. Both scenarios … Continue reading →

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