Scientists studying Mars said that they had discovered on its surface so-called solifluction lobes. These small formations on slopes have previously only been seen in colder regions of the Earth. Their presence on the red planet indicates that it has experienced periods when its climate was much more habitable.
New geologic formations on Mars
Scientists continue to study the surface of Mars and are increasingly coming to the conclusion that the description of this planet as just a “cold desert” is not very consistent with the real state of affairs. At least that’s the opinion of researchers from the University of Rochester, who recently used high-quality photos from vehicles circling the red planet to closely examine its surface.
In particular, they were interested in the slopes of nine craters. On them, they saw rather rare relief details known as solifluction lobes. They have previously only been seen on Earth, and not by all humans, but predominantly those in the colder landscapes of the Northern Hemisphere.
Solifluction is a phenomenon that sometimes occurs in frozen soil formed from water-saturated soil that is on the verge of being called liquid mud. When such a system freezes, of course, it becomes hard as a rock. And when the temperature rises, even before the water has completely melted, it begins to plastically deform under its own weight. And then the temperature drops again and they solidify.
Climate of Mars
In appearance, solifluction lobes resemble large droplets of paint that have been thick enough to drip down very slowly but have frozen halfway down. Actually, the soil at solifluction is very similar to it.
Solifluction lobes are quite understandable on Earth, although it takes a certain set of circumstances for that too. However, on Mars, where sublimation, that is, the direct conversion of water to vapor, usually occurs when water melts, it is much more difficult for it to occur because of the low atmospheric pressure.
Nevertheless, solifluction lobes indicate that conditions where water could have been present in the soil of Mars in a liquid state were present, and not that long ago. The history of the planet’s climate after it lost its dense atmosphere more than 3 billion years ago remains one of its biggest mysteries.
Scientists have already found a lot of evidence that the climate of Mars became milder for a while after that. However, how often these periods recurred and how long they lasted, they have only speculation.
According to phys.org
