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That One Time the Red Planet Was Half Blue
Researchers identified delta-like deposits near Mars' largest canyon, confirming a coastline and an ocean at least as large as Earth's Arctic Ocean about three billion years ago.
- Years ago, an international research team led by the University of Bern reported Mars was half blue with a vast ocean.
- Using high-resolution images from Mars-orbiting cameras, researchers mapped the landscape and NASA visualizations support that an ocean once covered parts of Mars.
- Near Valles Marineris, the team identified delta-like structures resembling river mouths depositing sediments into an ocean, researchers say.
- The researchers report the ocean was at least as large as the Arctic Ocean, and University of Bern says the study confirms earlier evidence that Mars was once humid and possibly habitable.
- Fritz Schlunegger cautioned that earlier claims relied on less precise data and this study uses higher-resolution imagery, while a Feb. 24, 2007 archive true-colour image shows Mars as the familiar red planet.
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21 Articles
21 Articles
A high resolution morphometric analysis of the southeastern region of Coprates Chasma, integrated into the extensive canyon system of Valles Marineris on the planet Mars, has allowed to identify sedimentary structures that can only be explained as deltaic deposits formed at the mouth of a river in a large and stable body of water. [...]
In the past, the Red Planet was blue, but how much? Scientists always wonder about the amount of water available on the surface of Mars a few billion years ago, and some think they've found a beginning of response in the marks that remain on the surface.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources21
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center4Last UpdatedBias Distribution45% Center
Bias Distribution
- 45% of the sources are Center
45% Center
L 33%
C 45%
R 22%
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