The remains of a glacier were discovered near the equator of Mars (2 photos)

Scientists reported the discovery of a relict glacier near the equator of Mars. The glacier is in the labyrinth of Night.





Surface feature identified as relic glacier, is one of many deposits of light colors, found in the region. As a rule, these deposits consist mainly of sulfate salts of a light color, but this deposit is also demonstrates features inherent in glaciers, including fields cracks and bands of moraines. The length of the glacier is estimated at 6 kilometers, the width is up to 4 kilometers, and the height ranges from 1.3 to 1.7 kilometers.

"What we found is not ice, but a deposit of salt with detailed morphological features of the glacier. We think salt formed at the top of the glacier, retaining the form of ice from below, up to details such as crack fields and moraine bands,” said Dr. Pascal Lee, planetary scientist at the SETI Institute and the Mars Institute, and lead author research.

“This region of Mars has a history of volcanic activity. AND where some volcanic material has come into contact with ice glacier, on the border between them there were chemical reactions with formation of a hardened layer of sulfate salts,” explains Surabh Shubham, a graduate student in the Department of Geology at the University of Maryland and study co-author. - This is the most likely explanation. hydrated and hydroxylated sulfates that we see in this bright field.



Over time, as erosion washed away the overlying volcanic materials, a crustal layer of sulfates was exposed, mirroring the ice, below it, which explains why salt deposits are now visible, representing features unique to glaciers such as fissures and moraine bands.

Small-scale features of the glacier associated with it deposits of sulfate salts and overlying volcanic materials must be geologically young. They probably belong to the Amazonian period.

It remains to be seen whether the water ice can still be preserved under the light sediment, or whether it has completely disappeared.

“Water ice is currently unstable at its most the surface of Mars near the equator at these altitudes. That's why no wonder we don't find any water ice on surfaces. It is possible that by now all water ice glacier sublimated. But there's also a chance that some of it might still be protected at shallow depths under sulfate salts.