A study led by University researchers published on June 16 analyzed the clay terrains of the neighboring red planet, Mars, finding a possible history of a habitable environment.
The study examined Mars’ surface through NASA images and data. It found that clay formed near bodies of water and could have helped the planet with an environment where life could arise. The study also analyzed what the planet’s environment potentially looked like in the past.
“The takeaway of this study is sort of a fundamental re-look at how we view Mars’s history,” study lead Rhianna Moore said. “When planetary scientists think of past Mars climate, it used to have water and then it dried up on a global scale. Thinking about the planet in its entirety, this study tries to piece that part a little bit more (to) understand variations across the surface.”
Moore said a lack of plate tectonics prevented Mars’ environment from being stable, helping the clay preserve some history of the planet.
“On Earth, we have this cycle driven by plate tectonics and our oceans, and that cycle sort of keeps the climate relatively stable,” Moore said. “When you have a stable climate and generally a relatively consistent amount of water throughout time, that will enable you to have a sustained habitable environment. (Mars) did not have large-scale tectonics like the Earth has … because of this lack of recycling of materials through tectonics, everything we are proposing gets trapped in these clays.”
Through this preserved clay, Moore said inferences about the planet’s environment could be made, such as areas having sustained rainfall for a long period of time and a potentially habitable environment.
Moore said one of the most surprising finds from the study was the presence of clay close to the Martian dichotomy, a region of the planet with sharp contrasts in altitudes.
“It has been proposed that there was an ancient ocean in the north,” Moore said. “The fact that these trend along that possible shoreline of an ocean was really interesting to find.”