It was found by analyzing seismometer data
A large «ocean» of liquid water in the crust of Mars was discovered by scientists from the University of Minnesota (USA) while studying the speed of seismic waves passing through the Martian crust and subsequent mathematical modeling. An article about this was published on Tuesday in the highly rated journal PNAS. A Russian scientist, for whom this discovery was not a sensation, explained when the presence of water in the depths of the Red Planet was first suggested.
The first images transmitted by InSight.
So, at a great depth — 11.5-20 kilometers, the Americans found a large amount of water, the crust of the Red Planet is saturated with it at this depth. The conclusion is based on data from the American landing probe InSight, which operated on the surface of Mars from November 2018 to December 2022. Rocks saturated with liquid water were determined using a seismometer installed on the landing device.
As a result, as scientists write, the hypothesis was confirmed that the middle crust, consisting of fractured igneous rocks, is indeed saturated with liquid water.
Scientists from different countries have previously assumed that real rivers flowed on Mars more than 3 billion years ago. Some of this water, according to assumptions, remained in the deep rocks over time, while the other simply evaporated.
– We, geologists, see river valleys (dry today) on the surface of Mars, – says Alexander Bazilevsky, chief researcher at the laboratory of comparative planetology at the Geochemistry and Analytical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences. – We can estimate when they flowed based on how many impact craters are superimposed on them. This happened 3-4 billion years ago. Gradually, Mars, which has a lower gravity than Earth, lost its atmosphere, it flew away into space and the pressure on the surface became less and less. This led to the fact that water could no longer remain on the surface – under the influence of solar radiation, it decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen flew away into space, and oxygen oxidized what was on the surface of Mars. That is why the surface of Mars is red, ginger. These are iron oxides.
InSight device.
– We see craters with fluidized emissions on Mars. Ejecta fall to the surface and continue to flow like streams of mud. In addition to very ancient craters, we see very young ones that also have a texture of spreading emissions. So we understand that there is ice in the crust of Mars. Further, we understand that the temperature increases as you go deeper into the depths of Mars. At some point it grows to the point that the ice becomes unstable, and liquid water appears. There, at depth, the pressure of the rocks keeps it from evaporating. We have long assumed this, and now, as we see from the article, it is shown based on seismograph data.
– Water at great depths may be a refuge for living organisms on Mars. They may well exist there. We know that there are chemobacteria on Earth that live not from solar energy, but from chemical reactions. The same ones can exist at great depths on Mars.
Martian crater Yuti with fluidized emissions on Chrys Planitia. Viking Orbiter image 3A07
– For ordinary people, this is perhaps a sensation. For planetary scientists, this is a completely expected event. Now we need to confirm and clarify the data obtained with the help of new rovers and seismographs.
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