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Fire And Ice: Mars Images Reveal Recent Volcanic And Glacial Activity (climate change)
ScienceDaily.com ^ | 2005-03-24 | NA

Posted on 01/22/2006 1:37:59 PM PST by neverdem

Brown University

PROVIDENCE, RI — Shifting glaciers and exploding volcanoes aren’t confined to Mars’ distant past, according two new reports in the journal Nature.

Glaciers moved from the poles to the tropics 350,000 to 4 million years ago, depositing massive amounts of ice at the base of mountains and volcanoes in the eastern Hellas region near the planet’s equator, based on a report by a team of scientists analyzing images from the Mars Express mission. Scientists also studied images of glacial remnants on the western side of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. They found additional evidence of recent ice formation and movement on these tropical mountain glaciers, similar to ones on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa.

In a second report, the international team reveals previously unknown traces of a major eruption of Hecates Tholus less than 350 million years ago. In a depression on the volcano, researchers found glacial deposits estimated to be 5 to 24 million years old.

James Head, professor of geological sciences at Brown University and an author on the Nature papers, said the glacial data suggests recent climate change in Mars’ 4.6-billion-year history. The team also concludes that Mars is in an “interglacial” period. As the planet tilts closer to the sun, ice deposited in lower latitudes will vaporize, changing the face of the Red Planet yet again.

Discovery of the explosive eruption of Hecates Tholus provides more evidence of recent Mars rumblings. In December, members of the same research team revealed that calderas on five major Mars volcanoes were repeatedly active as little as 2 million years ago. The volcanoes, scientists speculated, may even be active today.

“Mars is very dynamic,” said Head, lead author of one of the Nature reports. “We see that the climate change and geological forces that drive evolution on Earth are happening there.”

Head is part of a 33-institution team analyzing images from Mars Express, launched in June 2003 by the European Space Agency. The High Resolution Stereo Camera, or HRSC, on board the orbiter is producing 3-D images of the planet’s surface.

These sharp, panoramic, full-color pictures provided fodder for a third Nature report. In it, the team offers evidence of a frozen body of water, about the size and depth of the North Sea, in southern Elysium.

A plethora of ice and active volcanoes could provide the water and heat needed to sustain basic life forms on Mars. Fresh data from Mars Express – and the announcement that live bacteria were found in a 30,000-year-old chunk of Alaskan ice – is fueling discussion about the possibility of past, even present, life on Mars. In a poll taken at a European Space Agency conference last month, 75 percent of scientists believe bacteria once existed on Mars and 25 percent believe it might still survive there.

Head recently traveled to Antarctica to study glaciers, including bacteria that can withstand the continent’s dry, cold conditions. The average temperature on Mars is estimated to be 67 degrees below freezing. Similar temperatures are clocked in Antarctica’s frigid interior.

“We’re now seeing geological characteristics on Mars that could be related to life,” Head said. “But we’re a long way from knowing that life does indeed exist. The glacial deposits we studied would be accessible for sampling in future space missions. If we had ice to study, we would know a lot more about climate change on Mars and whether life is a possibility there.”

The European Space Agency, the German Aerospace Center and the Freie Universitaet in Berlin built and flew the HRSC and processed data from the camera. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) supported Head’s work.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: District of Columbia; US: Rhode Island
KEYWORDS: astronomy; climatechange; europeanspaceagency; mars; nasa
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“Mars is very dynamic,” said Head, lead author of one of the Nature reports. “We see that the climate change and geological forces that drive evolution on Earth are happening there.”

But, but I thought only humans caused climate change.


Mars is very dynamic. The shape and flow of this deposit near a Martian mountain almost 4 km. tall suggests ice-rich glacial movement. The image, taken on the eastern rim of the Hellas Basin, was made by the Mars Express High-Resolution Stereo Camera. (Photo: European Space Agency)

1 posted on 01/22/2006 1:38:03 PM PST by neverdem
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To: neverdem

The more we learn, the harder it is to reconcile our earlier ignorance.

Sometimes people just HAVE to change their view of things.

"Little green men" never were.


2 posted on 01/22/2006 1:43:21 PM PST by alloysteel (There is no substitute for success. None. Nobody remembers who was in second place.)
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To: neverdem; PatrickHenry; Dan(9698); RunningWolf; wallcrawlr
In a poll taken at a European Space Agency conference last month, 75 percent of scientists believe bacteria once existed on Mars and 25 percent believe it might still survive there.

HMmmm...

I wonder what 'percentage' of these 'scientists' are firmly in the Evolution camp??

3 posted on 01/22/2006 1:43:41 PM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going....)
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To: Elsie

Please make the connection: What has evolution got to do with the belief that bacteria once existed on Mars?


4 posted on 01/22/2006 1:47:43 PM PST by Clara Lou (A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality. --I. Kristol)
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To: neverdem

Women and minorities hurt worse......Of course, it's Bush's fault


5 posted on 01/22/2006 1:49:16 PM PST by Thoeting
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To: Elsie
"Glaciers moved from the poles to the tropics 350,000 to 4 million years ago."

"In a depression on the volcano, researchers found glacial deposits estimated to be 5 to 24 million years old."

350,000-4,000,000 years ???

5,000,000-24,000,000 years ???

That's quite a gap in their guess don't ya think. Makes ya wonder if they pick lottery numbers the same way, out of a hat. It would be more believable if they would just say they don't know how long ago.

6 posted on 01/22/2006 1:56:54 PM PST by uptoolate
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To: Elsie

But I thought ALL scientists were firmly in the evolution camp, real scientists at least.


7 posted on 01/22/2006 1:56:56 PM PST by mlc9852
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To: Elsie
I don't know or care till they force the issue on me. One thing is certain, they don't know what they will find, but then they do, it will only be 'more evidence' for evo.

I like the pictures of the planets and theories of each planet.
8 posted on 01/22/2006 1:57:03 PM PST by RunningWolf (Vet US Army Air Cav 1975)
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To: Clara Lou

All of life came from bacteria.


9 posted on 01/22/2006 1:57:21 PM PST by mlc9852
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To: mlc9852

Oh.


10 posted on 01/22/2006 2:03:27 PM PST by Clara Lou (A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality. --I. Kristol)
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To: Clara Lou

LOL - I didn't need my sarcasm tag, did I?


11 posted on 01/22/2006 2:06:58 PM PST by mlc9852
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To: mlc9852

LOL--no, you didn't. And I guess I didn't need to elaborate any further in my comment.


12 posted on 01/22/2006 2:11:23 PM PST by Clara Lou (A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality. --I. Kristol)
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To: neverdem; All

.

President BUSH has promised,
as America's best self defense...
against future terrorist attacks...
here at home,

Freedom's return to:

Communist Vietnam
Communist North Korea &
Communist Cuba


as well as


Freedom's arrival to:

The entire Middle East


...as he aims us back to the surface of Earth's Moon and then on to the Planet Mars early in this century.

Bringing those still living in the 7th Century A.D. here on Earth...

...along for the ride.


Amazing times, these,

...simply Amazing..?

.


13 posted on 01/22/2006 2:12:05 PM PST by ALOHA RONNIE ("ALOHA RONNIE" Guyer/Veteran-"WE WERE SOLDIERS" Battle of IA DRANG-1965 http://www.lzxray.com)
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To: Elsie

"I wonder what 'percentage' of these 'scientists' are firmly in the Evolution camp??"

It'd be pretty certain that the number is 100% What's your point? And why are you putting quotation marks around the word scientist?


14 posted on 01/22/2006 2:21:38 PM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: neverdem

Amazing photo. Nice mudflow.


15 posted on 01/22/2006 2:24:43 PM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: mlc9852

"All of life came from bacteria."

Very good. Bacteria or some other unicellular lifeform. You're learning.


16 posted on 01/22/2006 2:26:21 PM PST by MineralMan (godless atheist)
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To: MineralMan

I was wondering about the ones around 'percentage,' too.


17 posted on 01/22/2006 2:48:14 PM PST by Clara Lou (A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality. --I. Kristol)
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To: neverdem


Let's see, in the 70's it was global cooling and in the 90's global warming! Please somebody make up my mind!


18 posted on 01/22/2006 3:04:23 PM PST by sig229 (If you see a fork in the road, take it.)
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To: King Prout; KevinDavis

ping


19 posted on 01/22/2006 8:48:36 PM PST by neverdem (May you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows that you're dead.)
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To: RightWhale; Brett66; xrp; gdc314; anymouse; NonZeroSum; jimkress; discostu; The_Victor; ...
Marsward Ho!!!!


20 posted on 01/22/2006 8:54:18 PM PST by KevinDavis (http://www.cafepress.com/spacefuture)
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