Salty Sea Covered Part of Mars: 'Excellent' Site to Search for Past Life

Space.com ^ | 3/23/04 | Robert Roy Britt

[binger]

[Paradox]

More here on this thread.

[keithtoo]

Look for this dude's board while you're at it.

[capitan_refugio]

The next things to start looking for on mars, if seaching for past evidence of life are:

(1) Stromatolites - these are "ichnofossils" or "trace fossils." They represent bio-sedimentary structures formed by the interaction of sediments and blue-green algae They are not "true" fossils, because no algae remains are found, but they are the telltale trace of past life. They are formed by sediment becoming trapped in the mucilaginous sheaths formed by the algae colonies.

(2) Calcareous algae - especially something like coralline red algae. Simple organisms that have left behind, often, chemically diagnostic "crusts" on hard substrates. Some can even be "reef"-formers.

(3) Planktonic microfossils - organisms similar to diatoms and foraminifers. Although some are found in benthic environments, simple planktonic form would suggest that photsynthetic activity took place in the Martian oceans.

[Sabertooth]

FYI

[lchoro]

The Martians are just waiting to come back to life...

[image]http://seamonkeyworship.com/images/products/animwobbler.gif[/image]

[taxed2death]

Correction:

"Excellent" site to waste more taxpayer money.

[Dark Wing]

ping

[ex-snook]

Please 'esplain it to us' - why should we care about water on Mars, now or in the past?

[Victoria Delsoul]

Opportunity had spent its entire time on Mars, since landing in late January, inside a shallow crater studying soil and the exposed shelf of bedrock. The most recent and telling observations came by taking 152 microscopic pictures of a rock named Last Chance.

The findings add to previous rover discoveries of hematite, a mineral typically formed in water, and the layered rocks being laden with salts, which led scientists to conclude the region was at least soaked with groundwater.

Well, I never doubted the existence of Martians, as a matter of fact they are living amongst us.

[capitan_refugio]

This is a science thread. You might want to get back to the sports page.

[Fitzcarraldo]

At the larger outcropping, researchers hope to find more extensive layers and read them like pages of a history book, to learn more about the depth, breadth and timing of the ocean that long ago graced the red planet.

The layer just studied by Opportunity is the top layer of a sedimentary sequence that could go down for hundreds of feet. The top layer would be the youngest.

If there is a basalt layer near enough to the surface to be exhumed by the Endurance crater impact event, this area would be covered with these more resistant rocks like those seen at the Gusev site, but we don't. These sedimentary rocks weather away much faster except for the hard parts like the "berries".

It will be interesting to see what they find at Endurance crater.

[Fitzcarraldo]

don't ask - google.

[Phil V.]

If you'd like to be on or off this MARS ping list please FRail me.

[blam]

"Well, I never doubted the existence of Martians, as a matter of fact they are living amongst us."

Interesting angle. I do agree though.

I think Sir Fred Hoyle has it correct in his 1975 book, The Intelligent Universe.

[Aracelis]

Nah, they'll just pop another beer and continue to mess up this thread.

[RightWhale]

Great news. Now we must drill for ice. Then we shall see if it will be cheap to have a scientific outpost. With water it would cost a fraction compared to importing water.