Tag Archives: rain

Rain brings death in Mars-like Atacama desert

Posted on November 14, 2018 by rburnham

When rains fell on the arid Atacama Desert, it was reasonable to expect floral blooms to follow. Instead, the water brought death. An international team of planetary astrobiologists has found that after encountering never-before-seen rainfall three years ago at the … Continue reading →

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Early Mars: Arid, with occasional snow or rain

Posted on October 18, 2018 by rburnham

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Yo Matsubara, Alan Howard, and Ross Irwin recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] Constraints on the Noachian paleoclimate of the martian highlands from landscape evolution modeling Evidences show that Mars was once wetter … Continue reading →

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How hard did it rain on Mars?

Posted on May 17, 2017 by rburnham

Heavy rain on Mars reshaped the planet’s impact craters and carved out river-like channels in its surface billions of years ago, according to a new study published in Icarus. In the paper, researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and the Johns … Continue reading →

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Cloudburst rains needed to make Mars valley networks

Posted on August 27, 2012 by rburnham

In many regions, Mars has branching networks of valleys and channels that were carved by flowing water. A great many previous studies have tried to date when they were active and for how long, while others have looked in detail … 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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