Latest news with #AdamLosekoot
Arabian Post
21 hours ago
- Science
- Arabian Post
Mars Highlands Reveal Vast 15,000 km Ancient River Network
High‑resolution images from orbiting spacecraft have revealed an extraordinary network of over 15,000 km of fluvial sinuous ridges—also known as inverted channels—spanning Noachis Terra in Mars's southern highlands. This vast system, identified using data from Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE, CTX and MOLA instruments, indicates long‑lasting surface water activity shaped by precipitation roughly 3.7 billion years ago, reshaping scientific views of Mars's climate evolution. The ridges formed when river sediments cemented into resistant deposits, which later stood above the surrounding terrain after wind and erosion removed softer material. While previous research focused on valley networks, this study highlights inverted channels as compelling evidence of persistent, region‑wide water flow. Mapping uncovers meandering tributaries branching over hundreds of kilometres, with some avenues entering craters and breaching their rims—clear signs of river systems active long enough to carve into ancient impact landscapes. ADVERTISEMENT This finds new relevance in the Noachian‑Hesperian transition around 3.7 Ga—a geological era marked by a shift to a colder, drier Mars. The extensive fluvial systems preserved in Noachis Terra suggest sustained precipitation, rather than brief warming phases, supplied the water needed to maintain these rivers over a geologically meaningful period. The research, led by Adam Losekoot of the Open University and backed by the UK Space Agency, was unveiled at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham. Losekoot described Noachis Terra as a 'time‑capsule' recording ancient planetary processes, preserved for billions of years. These findings challenge earlier assumptions that equated Mars's early surface with a mostly cold and icy environment, punctuated by sporadic melting events. Instead, the new evidence supports a hypothesis of a warmer, wetter environment driven by substantial precipitation over extended periods. Noachis Terra had been relatively neglected by researchers focused on valley‑rich areas. The absence of traditional valley networks there previously led to underestimates of its water history. The focus on inverted channels opens fresh perspectives on how widespread surface water once was—even in terrains previously thought arid. This revived understanding of Mars's hydrological past connects with other findings that hint at subsurface water reserves. Among them, a recent international study reported a potential vast aquifer beneath Mars's south polar region. The new Noachis Terra data further supports the notion that early Mars had a robust water cycle, including precipitation and possibly rain‑fed riverine systems. Geologists also note that inverted channels have analogues on Earth, where cemented river sediments resist erosion and eventually form ridges that stand proud above eroded valleys. On Mars, such features appear most prominently in places like Miyamoto Crater and Juventae Chasma, but the scale of Noachis Terra's network is unprecedented. The implications for Mars's early environment are significant: a hydrologically active climate may have supported ecosystems or even nascent life. Though climate modelling has struggled to produce conditions that allow sustained liquid water, the physical evidence embedded in Noachis Terra's ridges demands revised scenarios. These might include episodic atmospheric thickening or greenhouse warming phases sufficient to sustain precipitation for extended times. Future research will likely probe whether similar inverted networks exist in other under‑studied highland regions and whether sediment composition points to seasonal cycles or sediment supply dynamics. Planned follow‑up with rover missions or crater‑site analysis may further evaluate if ancient lakes once sat behind these breached craters, and if mineral signatures—such as clay or sulphate layers—point to habitable or life‑friendly conditions.
India.com
a day ago
- Science
- India.com
Mars Had Rivers Mightier Than The Ganga? New Discovery Reveals Red Planet's Wet Past
In a discovery that has rocked planetary science, researchers have found more than 9,300 miles of ancient river ridges on Mars, suggesting the Red Planet was once a thriving, water-rich world. These fossil riverbeds, some possibly mightier than the Ganga or Amazon, wind through Mars' southern highlands, defying the long-held belief that the planet was mostly dry and frozen. Led by PhD candidate Adam Losekoot at the Open University and backed by the UK Space Agency, the research focused on Noachis Terra, a region often overlooked by previous Martian studies. Unlike visible valleys or canyons, the team identified sinuous ridges, formed when ancient rivers deposited sediments that later hardened into stone. Over time, surrounding ground eroded away, leaving behind the riverbed in elevated relief, clear signs of once-flowing water. These ridges tell a vivid story: Mars, around 3.7 billion years ago, experienced long periods of rainfall and surface runoff, not just occasional melting ice or volcanic floods. The sheer extent of these channels implies seasonal, consistent rivers, possibly supported by a thicker atmosphere and temperate climate, a perfect recipe for life. While most Mars studies have focused on dramatic valleys or craters like Jezero, this new evidence shifts the spotlight to subtle landforms, exposing a climate history that's far more stable and Earth-like than previously thought. Losekoot describes Noachis Terra as a "time capsule", untouched by plate tectonics or erosion, preserving secrets of a watery world that might once have been hospitable to life. The findings, presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting 2025, call for future missions to explore these inverted channels for biosignatures and minerals shaped by water. This isn't just a story about ancient Martian rivers, it's a new chapter in the search for alien life and a deeper understanding of planetary evolution. As scientists decode every ridge and bend, one thing is clear: Mars was never just a barren desert. It may have once flowed with life.
India Today
4 days ago
- Science
- India Today
New discovery reveals Mars once had a river system mightier than the Ganga
In a discovery that could transform our understanding of Mars, scientists have mapped more than 15,000 kilometers of ancient riverbeds in the planet's southern highlands, revealing that the Red Planet may once have been far wetter and more Earth-like than previously newly identified Martian river system, stretching over 15,000 kilometers, surpasses the length of India's Ganga river system and rivals some of the largest on ancient channels, known as fluvial sinuous ridges or inverted channels, were found across Noachis Terra, a vast, relatively underexplored region of Mars. A moderately eroded fluvial sinuous ridge (FSR), with lots of small craters in it, that stands out clearly above the surrounding material. (Photo: Nasa) The ridges are believed to have formed when sediments deposited by flowing rivers hardened over time and were later exposed as softer surrounding material eroded Mars' Watery PastThe research, led by Adam Losekoot of the Open University and funded by the UK Space Agency, was presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting team used high-resolution data from three orbital instruments, the Context Camera (CTX), Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), and High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), to map the location, length, and morphology of these riverbeds across Noachis findings include:Widespread distribution: The ridges are found across a broad area, with some systems extending for hundreds of kilometers and rising tens of meters above the surrounding water: The interconnected nature of the ridges indicates that water flowed for geologically significant periods, not just in brief, sporadic as a source: The spatial distribution suggests that precipitation, rather than isolated melting events, was the main source of water, hinting at a stable, wet climate during the Noachian-Hesperian transition around 3.7 billion years Old TheoriesTraditionally, Mars was thought to have been cold and dry, with only brief periods of melting ice creating short-lived new evidence from Noachis Terra challenges this view, suggesting instead that Mars once had a climate capable of sustaining large, interconnected river systems for extended periods, conditions that could have supported life.'Studying Mars, particularly an underexplored region like Noachis Terra, is really exciting because it's an environment which has been largely unchanged for billions of years. It's a time capsule that records fundamental geological processes in a way that just isn't possible here on Earth,' said discovery not only reshapes our view of Mars' past but also raises new questions about its potential to have harboured life and the processes that led to its dramatic transformation into the arid world we see today.- EndsMust Watch
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Science
- The Guardian
Discovery of ancient riverbeds suggests Mars once wetter than thought
Thousands of miles of ancient riverbeds have been discovered in the heavily cratered southern highlands of Mars, suggesting the red planet was once a far wetter world than scientists thought. Researchers spotted geological traces of nearly 10,000 miles (16,000km) of ancient watercourses, believed to be more than 3bn years old, in high resolution images of the rugged landscape captured by Mars orbiters. While some of the riverbeds are relatively short, others form networks that stretch for more than 100 miles. The widespread rivers were probably replenished by regular rain or snowfall in the region, researchers said. 'Water has been found on Mars countless times before, but what's really interesting here is that this is an area where for a long time we've thought there wasn't any evidence for water,' said Adam Losekoot, a PhD student at the Open University. 'What we found is that the area did have water and it was very distributed,' he added. 'The only water source that could have sustained these rivers over such a vast area would have to be some kind of regional precipitation.' The most dramatic signs of ancient water on Mars are the huge valley networks and canyons, thought to have been carved by water flowing across the terrain. But some areas of the planet have few valleys, leading scientists to question how wet the regions once were. One region that particularly puzzled researchers was Noachis Terra, or Land of Noah, one of the oldest landscapes on Mars. According to computer models of the ancient Martian climate, the region should have had substantial rain or snowfall, sculpting the terrain as the water flowed. Faced with a lack of evidence for ancient riverbeds, Losekoot and his colleagues turned to high-resolution images of Noachis Terra captured by instruments onboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and Mars Global Surveyor. The images covered nearly 4m square miles of the planet's southern highlands, a land area much larger than Australia. The images revealed scores of geological features called fluvial sinuous ridges, also known as inverted channels. These form when tracks of sediment carried by ancient rivers harden over time, and are later exposed when the softer ground around them erodes. While some tracks are relatively narrow, others are more than a mile wide. 'We have lots of little ridge segments, and they are usually a couple of hundred metres wide and about 3.5km long, but there are some that are much, much larger than that,' Losekoot said. In one image from the MRO the pattern of fluvial sinuous ridges reveals a network of meandering tributaries and spots where the ancient riverbanks burst. Two rivers can be seen crossing into a crater, where water probably flowed in and filled it up before breaching the other side. The findings, to be presented on Thursday at the Royal Astronomical Society's national meeting in Durham, suggest an enduring presence of surface water in the Noachis Terra region of Mars about 3.7bn years ago. In its warmer, wetter past, the planet held vast bodies of water. Mars became the arid world we know today when its magnetic field waned, allowing the solar wind to erode its atmosphere and the water to escape into space. But some water may remain, unseen. Beyond Mars's polar ice caps, an international team reported in April, a vast reservoir of water could lie hidden deep beneath the Martian surface.
