Ancient Mars River May Have Flowed into Huge Ocean

[joshcryer]

Ancient Mars River May Have Flowed into Huge Ocean
Scientists have spotted more evidence that an enormous ocean on Mars covered much of the planet's surface billions of years ago.

The latest clues were found in photos from NASA's powerful Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter circling the planet. The images show what appears to be an ancient river delta, which may have emptied into a vast Martian ocean that inundated up to one-third of the Red Planet long ago, a new study reports.

"Scientists have long hypothesized that the northern lowlands of Mars are a dried-up ocean bottom, but no one yet has found the smoking gun," study co-author Mike Lamb, an assistant professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, said in a statement.

The new study does not provide the long-sought smoking gun, researchers stressed, but it further bolsters the hypothesis.

Have believed this for a long time. Just look at Mars' topology map:



That blue may well have been an ocean.

Like this:



Fascinating to think about.

[defacto7]

1. That really is fascinating!

[ZRT2209]

2. it makes me sad to think that Mars lost its water