Forest on Mars !?!?

bluebird, you mention terraforming.

I have a concept to present, if you could indulge me a moment.

I have thought about the terraforming possibilities relative to making mars habitable for life as we know it. Let me interject here to state that terraforming would only make it less habitable for the life already there.

To continue, i am not sure it is possible,currently, to terraform Mars. I am going to get some heckling here, but how do we know when Mars went through its most recent cataclysm? Could the planetary core not have been disabled during the most recent?

It would seem to me that the biggest barrier to terraforming is the lack of a magnetosphere. This is a most valuable asset for a life bearing planet to have. It protects you from radiation and coronal ejections.

Perhaps this is what prevents the oceans from flowing? Maybe that is another big question: why are the oceans locked up in the crust?

Too many variables....but it seems that the magnetosphere is a deal breaker.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
It would seem to me that the biggest barrier to terraforming is the lack of a magnetosphere. This is a most valuable asset for a life bearing planet to have. It protects you from radiation and coronal ejections.

Perhaps this is what prevents the oceans from flowing? Maybe that is another big question: why are the oceans locked up in the crust?

Too many variables....but it seems that the magnetosphere is a deal breaker.

In the thread 'Terraforming Mars with robots' this was my answer to lack of magnetosphere on Mars:

Originally posted by blue bird
We have Venus - no magnetosphere but thick atmosphere. Than forming thicker atmosphere on Mars can provide radiation protection ( and stripping off formed atmosphere) from solar wind.

There are suggestions to build artificial magnetosphere: a grid of huge electromagnets on surface.

However, recent scientific evidence suggest that just a thick enough atmosphere like Earth's is enough to create a shielding effect in the absence of a magnetosphere. In the past, Earth regularly had periods where the magnetosphere changed direction and collapsed for some time. Some scientists believe that in the ionosphere, a magnetic shielding was created almost instantly after the magnetosphere collapsed.[3], a principle that applies to Venus as well and would also be the case in every other planet or moon with a large enough atmosphere.

*It is also interesting that on Southern hemisphere ( 'dark spots' or 'vegetation' ) stronger magnetic field is found.

But on the other hand - Mars Express discovered AURORA ( with SPICAM - dual infra red and violet spectrometer which study atmosphere and ionosphere of Mars) for the first time. Very Interesting . It is Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptun , Uranus,Venus and Mars that are now observed to have this in a fact effects of magnetic field on high energy particles from the solar wind.


Story is that although Mars has no intrinsic magnetic field -auroras are due to magnetic “anomalies“ found in crust ( as a remnants of an ancient Martian magnetic field) that possible give rise to auroras.

ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft has for the first time ever detected an aurora on Mars. This aurora is of a type never before seen in the Solar System.

While the detected emission is typical for daytime, it must indicate the excitation of the upper atmosphere by fluxes of charged particles – probably electrons – if observed during night-time.

By analysing the map of crustal magnetic anomalies compiled with Mars Global Surveyor’s data, scientists observed that the region of the emissions corresponds to the area where the strongest magnetic field is localised. This correlation indicates that the origin of the light emission actually is a flux of electrons moving along the crust magnetic lines and exciting the upper atmosphere of Mars.

esa

The strongest magnetic anomalies, according to the MGS data, are related to Terra Cimmeria and Sirenum in the heavily cratered uplands of Mars' southern hemisphere. The anomalies or fields are nearly as strong at the surface as the Earth's magnetic field, and are laid out in east-west bands of alternating polarity, extending for more than 620 miles [1,000 kilometers] north to south, sort of like a barcode across the planet's surface.

While the detected emission is apparently pretty typical for daytime, if observed during nighttime it must indicate the excitation of the upper atmosphere by fluxes of charged particles -- probably electrons. Therefore, the correlation indicates that the origin of the light emission is probably the result of a flux of electrons moving along the crust magnetic lines and exciting the upper atmosphere of Mars.

source

“Defrosting“ south polar terrain ... look like thick, lush vegetation/forest to me....

msss

Ok... here is what MSSS call “Spring/early summer view of defrosting dunes at south high latitude“ - but zooming the image, it looks kinda strange - like arch “entrances“ inside dune!?






MSSS

[edit on 2-7-2007 by blue bird]

Question on those green pics above.
Did you change the colors on those pictures because when I followed your link they were grey.

Originally posted by earth2
Question on those green pics above.
Did you change the colors on those pictures because when I followed your link they were grey.

I cannot speak for bluebird, but myself, when i am analyzing photo's, i like to remove color layers, convert to RGB/CMYK for additional layer removal, adjust overall contrast, adjust contrast on each individual layer, produce several copies of particular layers and overlay them to create a more "striking" image.....


All of these actions can cause color changes.

Originally posted by earth2
Question on those green pics above.
Did you change the colors on those pictures because when I followed your link they were grey.

MSSS strips are always BW - when image is dark - I just put a green ( or deep orange or violet filter color) to see better, sometimes also you must enhance dark image or sharpened them Zoom into detail. That is all.
And always link the image to the original!


[edit on 2-7-2007 by blue bird]

Example of coloring image:

* original BW

Originally posted by blue bird
“Defrosting“ south polar terrain ... look like thick, lush vegetation/forest to me....

msss





The first picture looks so much like foilage I might just go postal now. Also notice the clearing in the upper right hand corner, the circle patch with no trees in it.

Originally posted by Soraia

I know, I know...but if I weren't like this, I wouldn't be on ATS, now would I?

Like I said, I know, I know...the idea just popped up, and I felt the urge to post it. Might be a brain fart, might not be. The swirls even go in the same direction, in my eyes anyways.

zeeon, and everyone in that direction...I really don't need an in-depth comment. Just have fun with this, it's called "playing". You know, what we used to do as kids, when we used our imaginations?

Soraia - you are very right in making educated guess (or just impression) and you are not the only one puzzled by topography of North polar cup.

There is no other planet or moon in our solar system that has such spiraling structure.

Explanation goes from heating and freezing cycle to pole shift to North cup being cathode (and the South cup - anode) in the tornadic excange ( belivers in Electric Universe)..

The image generated by Pelletier’s computer simulations shows patterns like those of Mars’ spiral troughs, right down to the imperfections. Courtesy of Jon Pelletier

source

Crater wall - seeping water through canal!!!






msss

These crater walls has distinctive holes in a rows!




and an interesting textured floor:

msss

Originally posted by Cydonian Priest


The first picture looks so much like foilage I might just go postal now. Also notice the clearing in the upper right hand corner, the circle patch with no trees in it.

..another one

msss

Interesting floors of these craters:




msss

Originally posted by blue bird
Crater wall - seeping water through canal!!!

This sure looks like some liquid did seep through the crater rim, coming from that small "stream".

Good find!

Very unusual non -transparent black “object“:




msss


* Indeed ArMaP - there is no doubt that liquid was streaming downfall ...

Originally posted by blue bird
* Indeed ArMaP - there is no doubt that liquid was streaming downfall ...

Yes, even I can see it.

As we are talking about streams, do you have any idea about the two types of gullies that can be seen on Mars, the ones that are wider at the bottom and the ones that are wider at the top?

Kind'a makes you wonder why they sent a probbe to the dessert terrain instead of to the water soucers..

it's know for many years about the north and south poles that they contain water or some other source of liquid. If we know that water is a source of live-giving then why would you send that thing to the dessert...let me guess... another smoke courtain for the public. Ether that or people at NASA at just a bunch of airheads.

Originally posted by pleyades
Kind'a makes you wonder why they sent a probbe to the dessert terrain instead of to the water soucers..

Because, the objective is not to find life, but to colonize, and with a bunch of environmental groups breathing down their backs the task becomes almost impossible...

It is my suspicion that Mars is a "Rosetta Stone" of a past great civilization, and with that great assumption it becomes imperative to keep the secret until we find out the means by which they became extinct. If one group has a distinctive survival advantage over another, then we benefit from the knowledge by applying the principle to our own species.

More simply, by adopting this great assumption, discovering how one group can successfully either kill off another group or survive a global catastrophe, we become the heirs of the Earth, and then Mars, by following their example.

So, in short, the boys are not "airheads", but just follow orders. And you would too to pay the mortgage.