A team of researchers led by geophysicist Edwin Kyte of the University of Chicago used
Numerous previous studies have shown that Mars used to be covered by tracks, the channels of which are stillAbout 3 billion years ago, they all dried up, but scientists are stillThey don't know what happened then.
As the authors of the new study note,The most popular hypothesis was the loss of carbon dioxide. This version suggests that the disappearance of a greenhouse gas on Mars led to a cooling of the planet's surface and the loss of liquid water.
In their work, scientists modeled the impactvarious factors, including greenhouse gases, the distribution of water and its shape, the presence of snow caps and clouds. The simulation showed that changing the amount of carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere had no effect on the final result. This means, geophysicists explain, that this gas was not the driving force behind the change.
There are several alternative hypotheses.For example, one theory that fits the simulations well suggests that there was a layer of thin icy clouds high in the Martian atmosphere that acted like greenhouse glass, keeping the planet warm. Another possible reason is the release of hydrogen from the bowels of the planet. The interaction of this gas with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could lead to the heating of the planet.
“We don’t know what that factor is, but we need a lot of it to explain the results,” Kite says.
The authors of the study are part of the scientific groupNASA's Curiosity rover. The researchers plan to challenge him with new tasks that will help to understand the causes of the disappearance of water. In addition, as the scientists add, the Perseverance mission can bring additional data.
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