Mars Had an Ocean, Scientists Say, Pointing to New Data

The original paper: sciencemag.org

We measured maps of atmospheric water (H2O) and its deuterated form (HDO) across the martian globe, showing strong isotopic anomalies and a significant high D/H enrichment indicative of great water loss. The maps sample the evolution of sublimation from the north polar cap, revealing that the released water has a representative D/H value enriched by a factor of about 7 relative to Earth’s ocean (VSMOW). Certain basins and orographic depressions show even higher enrichment, while high altitude regions show much lower values (1 to 3 VSMOW). Our atmospheric maps indicate that water ice in the polar reservoirs is enriched in deuterium to at least 8 VSMOW, which would mean that early Mars (4.5 billion years ago) had a global equivalent water layer at least 137 meters deep.

Artist Rendering

NYTimes

After six years of planetary observations, scientists at NASA say they have found convincing new evidence that ancient Mars had an ocean.

It was probably the size of the Arctic Ocean, larger than previously estimated, the researchers reported on Thursday. The body of water spread across the low-lying plain of the planet’s northern hemisphere for millions of years, they said.

If confirmed, the findings would add significantly to scientists’ understanding of the planet’s history and lend new weight to the view that ancient Mars had everything needed for life to emerge.

“The existence of a northern ocean has been debated for decades, but this is the first time we have such a strong collection of data from around the globe,” said Michael Mumma, principal investigator at NASA’s Goddard Center for Astrobiology and an author of the report, published in the journal Science. “Our results tell us there had to be a northern ocean.”

Not all scientists agree however, the ocean remains "a hypothesis," according to Ashwin Vasavada, project scientist of the Curiosity rover mission (JPL).

Will be interesting to see how this stands up to scrutiny and further research.

a reply to: Elton

Great Topic.

I feel that I have heard this years ago, & It was accepted as common knowledge. Mars did, at one point in time, host a vast amount of water.

It's soo Agenda 21 to let people know that NOW they are 100% positive that mars had a ocean....and that means life...and that means the 100 people we are sending there will meet them....or get killed by them....etc. excessive rambling.

Here is a BIG GUESS (not) Mars has caves!! and those caves harbor life, too!!!

S&F (thanks for the short venting)

Theyve been saying this for awhile no, I feel like they just keep rehashing the same info over and over again.

a reply to: SullivanBlack

THAT'S WHAT I AM SAYIN' !!!

originally posted by: SullivanBlack
Theyve been saying this for awhile no, I feel like they just keep rehashing the same info over and over again.

You're getting burnt out on the message? Let's see.... What would be the next step for you if you were the average citizen not caring a heck of a lot about that announcement except that it found chink in you brain to reside with some of the other unresolved questions about reality today such as "...are UFOs ET craft?"

Now, just someplace down the line of your unconscious thinking during the middle of the night some aspect of you just may be a bit more receptive to the idea that of course there was water on Mars and just maybe ETs may exist out there. And that is a leg up on where average citizens usually resides between work, family, paying bills, TV watching and dreaming of more techno gadgets on their credit cards. Those of us already on the outlook for ETs are bored by all of this prep-PR, but we should be accustomed to it by now. And see, we help fan the flames by threads like this.

originally posted by: SirKonstantin

It's soo Agenda 21 to let people know that NOW they are 100% positive that mars had a ocean....and that means life...and that means the 100 people we are sending there will meet them

Um, actually they are not "100% positive". It's still a theory, though a very good one.

a reply to: Elton

S&F op, nice to see some evidences at last

Did they say where they think the water went?

a reply to: AthlonSavage

*burp* Oops, sorry. Were you going to drink that?

Seriously though: they think the water was sublimed (turned to gas).

First: You speculate.

Then, if you start to find supporting evidence, you build a theory.

You then continue to examine the data and evidence to see if your theory continues to be supported, or if the evidence starts to contradict your theory.

Hopefully, at some point, enough evidence is gathered that the theory becomes fact.

Mars has polar ice caps If im not mistaken. There will be a region between the caps and land where its in liquid state. Im surprised they have photo that region in detail as it will be where water in liquid form is most likely to be found. Mars definitely has water that's no speculation, the speculative part is how much does it have and where is it.

Crater Lake on Mars found by me

Ok guys this is only my first post and i cant seem to find out how to start my own thread..but this is the topic and I need someone else to see it as soon as possible!
I found water on mars this morning,
i have evidence of a lake inside a crater on the face of mars,
It is filled with water with waves formed by the different wind patterns inside the crater itself, just like on earth. you can see where the water lies and ends as the waves are not present outside the lake walls
I found it inside a large crater on the southwest plain of the Eos chasma
co-ordinates are: seen on google earth (MARS EDITION)

latitude 20°30'30.91"S
longitude: 53°41'22.73"W

video at: www.youtube.com...
can someone please confirm what it is?
nothing else similar was found anywhere

originally posted by: SullivanBlack
Theyve been saying this for awhile no, I feel like they just keep rehashing the same info over and over again.

After reading the abstract, it seems to me that this is a better refinement of the original hypothesis about water. They gathered more data and did more research, and they determined more details, such as that the water could have been as deep as 137 meters.

Theories and hypotheses are constantly being better refined and fine tuned due to more data being gathered and more research being done. It would surprise me more if they put out a hypothesis about an Ocean on mars only once, and never talk about the theory or refine it ever again.

originally posted by: Theonlywayisup
can someone please confirm what it is?
nothing else similar was found anywhere

Maybe Rippled dunes of very fine sand at the bottom of a crater?

Similar to this picture of Mars sand dunes:
Sands of Mars

a reply to: Soylent Green Is People

have you seen the co-ordinates?
check it out

originally posted by: AthlonSavage
Mars has polar ice caps If im not mistaken. There will be a region between the caps and land where its in liquid state. Im surprised they have photo that region in detail as it will be where water in liquid form is most likely to be found. Mars definitely has water that's no speculation, the speculative part is how much does it have and where is it.

The polar caps are made mostly of frozen CO2 (dry ice), which sublimates directly into gas when warmed. Even if they were made of water ice, the Mars' extremely tenuous atmosphere means that any melting ice would sublimate into gas (water vapour) straight away. There's a remote chance that some of the water can be salty enough to form liquid sludge/mud for a short period of time, but even that wouldn't last for very long, as water would either evaporate or freeze again.

So no, there wouldn't be lakes and rivers of liquid water on Mars today. Water on Mars is either ice, or chemically bound into minerals, like clays or gypsum.

originally posted by: Theonlywayisup
Crater Lake on Mars found by me

Ok guys this is only my first post and i cant seem to find out how to start my own thread..but this is the topic and I need someone else to see it as soon as possible!
I found water on mars this morning,
i have evidence of a lake inside a crater on the face of mars,
It is filled with water with waves formed by the different wind patterns inside the crater itself, just like on earth. you can see where the water lies and ends as the waves are not present outside the lake walls
I found it inside a large crater on the southwest plain of the Eos chasma
co-ordinates are: seen on google earth (MARS EDITION)

latitude 20°30'30.91"S
longitude: 53°41'22.73"W

video at: www.youtube.com...
can someone please confirm what it is?
nothing else similar was found anywhere

These are sand dunes, made of dark, slightly bluish basaltic sand. The distinctly blue colour in that image comes from the false-colour imagery where infrared is captured along with visible light: hirise-pds.lpl.arizona.edu...
Here's the RGB version, approximating the true colours: hirise-pds.lpl.arizona.edu...

Image data page: hirise.lpl.arizona.edu...

Such dark sand ripples are common around Mars, I'm surprised you haven't seen more of them. They are present at the base of Mt Sharp, where Curiosity rover is operating.

a reply to: wildespace

Thanks man, i guess there are alot of sand dunes up there lol
when i scanned over this area i saw these types only in that small area i just thought ultra positive haha