Sunday, March 10, 2013

Mars Orbiter: Buried Mars Flood Channels in 3-D


NASA Helps See Buried Mars Flood Channels in 3-D

Visualization of Buried Marte Vallis Channels This illustration schematically shows where the Shallow Radar instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter detected flood channels that had been buried by lava flows in the Elysium Planitia region of Mars.

March 07, 2013

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has provided images allowing scientists for the first time to create a 3-D reconstruction of ancient water channels below the Martian surface.

The spacecraft took numerous images during the past few years that showed channels attributed to catastrophic flooding in the last 500 million years. During this period, Mars had been otherwise considered cold and dry. These channels are essential to understanding the extent to which recent hydrologic activity prevailed during such arid conditions. They also help scientists determine whether the floods could have induced episodes of climate change.

The estimated size of the flooding appears to be comparable to the ancient mega-flood that created the Channeled Scablands in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States, in eastern Washington.

More - Link >>> http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-087&cid=release_2013-087

Source: Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA.

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