Tag Archives: ice

MARSIS detects “Oceanus Borealis” sediments

Posted on January 25, 2012 by rburnham

The ground-penetrating radar instrument MARSIS on the Mars Express orbiter has measured the electrical properties of the north and south polar regions. The results, reported in Geophysical Research Letters by Jérémie Mouginot (University of California, Irvine) and colleagues, strongly support … Continue reading →

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Mini pedestal craters suggest tropical ice deposits

Posted on January 17, 2012 by rburnham

Craters surrounded by debris aprons that stand above the surrounding surface are known as pedestal craters. Scientists think the slab-like apron of ejecta around such craters covers layers that are rich in water ice. Nearly all pedestal craters found so … Continue reading →

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No flow found in north polar ice layers

Posted on January 10, 2012 by rburnham

The northern polar ice cap of Mars contains a thick stack of layers rich in water ice. Under the right conditions ice can flow, as seen in ice sheets and glaciers on Earth. What about Mars? A group of scientists … Continue reading →

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Microbes in a cave, eating rock

Posted on December 16, 2011 by rburnham

Life abounds on Earth, where it lives in every possible ecological niche, including deep in the crust. This comes from biology’s reproductive drive plus natural selection’s creativity in matching organisms’ needs with what nature provides. But what about Mars, where … Continue reading →

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Peeking into a stacked deck

Posted on June 7, 2011 by rburnham

No one is planning to send a Mars rover into the high latitudes (north or south) anytime soon, but if a paper in Icarus (June 2011) by Seth J. Kadish and James W. Head (both Brown University) is correct, scientists … Continue reading →

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