These dark,
narrow, 100 meter-long streaks called recurring slope lineae flowing downhill
on Mars
are inferred to
have been formed by contemporary flowing water. Recently, planetary scientists
detected hydrated
salts on these slopes at Hale crater, corroborating their original hypothesis
that
the streaks are
indeed formed by liquid water. The blue color seen upslope of the dark streaks
are
thought not to be
related to their formation, but instead are from the presence of the mineral
pyroxene.
The image is
produced by draping an orthorectified (Infrared-Red-Blue/Green(IRB)) false
color image
(ESP_030570_1440)
on a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the same site produced by High Resolution
Imaging Science
Experiment (University of Arizona). Vertical exaggeration is 1.5.
Credits:
NASA/JPL/University of Arizona
(September 28, 2015) New
findings from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest
evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.
Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected
signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on
the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They
darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade
in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures
are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at
colder times.
“Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our
search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that
validates what we’ve long suspected,” said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and
associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
“This is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water --
albeit briny -- is flowing today on the surface of Mars.”
These downhill flows, known as recurring slope lineae (RSL),
often have been described as possibly related to liquid water. The new findings
of hydrated salts on the slopes point to what that relationship may be to these
dark features. The hydrated salts would lower the freezing point of a liquid
brine, just as salt on roads here on Earth causes ice and snow to melt more
rapidly. Scientists say it’s likely a shallow subsurface flow, with enough
water wicking to the surface to explain the darkening.