The ancient Martian Gale Crater became the focus of a study by scientists from Rice University, who compared
Basalt relief of Iceland and cool weather withtemperatures, usually below 3 ° C, turned out to be the closest analogue of ancient Mars. The study found that it was temperature that influenced the weathering of ancient Martian rocks the most.
Data collected by Curiosity during itstravels since landing on Mars in 2012, provide detailed information on the chemical and physical state of the mudstones formed in the ancient lake. Mudstones are hard rocks, the product of dehydration, compression and recrystallization of clays that occurred during diagenesis and epigenesis. In terms of mineralogical and chemical composition, they are very similar to clays, but differ from them in their greater hardness and inability to soak in water. Their chemical composition does not directly reveal the climatic conditions when the sediments were eroded upstream. To do this, researchers had to look for similar rocks and soils on Earth to find correlations between planets.
In a study published in JGR Planets,Data is used from well-known and varied settings in Iceland, Idaho (USA) and other places around the world. A wide sample made it possible to understand what conditions on Earth correspond to data from the Curiosity rover.
It is known that Gale Crater once had a lake.However, scientists have long debated what climate allowed water to fill it. Some argue that early Mars was warm and humid and that rivers and lakes were usually present on its surface. Others believe that the Red Planet was cold and dry, while glaciers and snow were more common.
New data shows that the correct scenario isthird. The ancient climate was likely cold, but also appears to have maintained liquid water in lakes for long periods of time. They also found that ancient rocks on Mars were comparable to sediments in modern rivers and lakes in Iceland. The results also showed that the planet's climate changed over time from Antarctic conditions to a more Icelandic variant.
Research conducted by a PhD graduateMichael Thorpe, Martian geologist Kirsten Siebach of Rice University, and geologist Joel Herowitz of State University of New York at Stony Brook.
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Doctoral studies are a form of advanced training for persons withthe purpose of preparing them for the degree of Doctor of Science; a specialized subdivision of a university or research institution for the training of teaching and research personnel of the highest qualification - doctors of science.
In biology, epigenesis is a processthrough which plants, animals and fungi develop from seeds, spores or eggs through a sequence of stages in which cells differentiate and organs are formed.
Gale is an impact crater on Mars named after Walter Frederick Gale, an amateur astronomer who observed Mars in the late 19th century and described channels on it.