According to ISNA, a new study shows that thick, rich layers of clay minerals on Mars show that the Red Planet in the distant past has housed host environments for a long time.
Space wrote in a report;; Clay layers need liquid water to form. These layers are hundreds of feet thick and are thought to have been formed in a warmer and wetter conditions than the current Mars. “These areas have a lot of water, but their topographic protrusion is not high,” said Rhianna Moore, a student at the University of Texas at the University of Texas, but their topography is not high. Therefore, these areas are very stable. If you have a stable land, you will not disrupt your habitable environments. The desired conditions may be stable for longer.
On our planet, such sediments are formed under specific geological and climatic conditions. “On Earth, places that we usually see the thickest sequences from clay minerals, are located in humid environments and at least physical erosion where they can destroy weathering,” said Tim Game, an associate professor at the University of Texas Earth and Planet Science.
Moore, Guj, and their colleagues, using NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data and images, evaluated 3 clay sediment and examined their shapes and locations and their proximity to other features such as lakes or ancient rivers. They found that clay was mainly located in the post -ancient lakes, but not close to the valleys where water was once strong. This compound helped maintain clay over time with mild chemical changes and less severe physical erosion.
The research group wrote about their new study: Stratigraphics containing clay minerals usually occur in areas where chemical weathering is preferred to physical erosion. These areas are farther away from the activity of the valleys and closer to stagnant water masses.
The findings of this study show that severe chemical weathering on Mars may disrupt the usual balance between weathering and climate.
On the ground, where tectonic activity constantly exposes fresh stones to the atmosphere, carbonate minerals, such as limestone, are formed when the stone reacts with water and carbon dioxide. This process helps to remove carbon dioxide from air, storing it solid and adjusting the weather in long periods.
On Mars, there is no tectonic activity, leading to a lack of carbonate minerals and the removal of carbon dioxide from the thin atmosphere of the planet. As a result, carbon dioxide released from Martian volcanoes long ago is likely to remain in the atmosphere for a longer time and has made the planet warmer and wet in the past. Researchers believe that these conditions may encourage clay formation.
Also, the researchers guess that clay could absorb water and trap chemical by -products such as cations and prevent them from spreading and reacting with surrounding stones to form carbonates that were trapped and unable to penetrate the surrounding environment.
Moore said clay is probably one of the many factors that contribute to the strange shortage of carbonates predicted on Mars.
The study was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.
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