Study results confirm that ancient Mars was cold and icy

The journal Communications Earth and Environment notes that the Mars rover Curiosity has discovered that Martian soil contains X-ray amorphous materials that do not have the typical repeating structure of minerals, making them difficult to study using X-ray diffraction. This material makes up 15-73 percent of the soil samples collected by the rover in Gale Crater. The samples were found to be rich in iron and silicon and poor in aluminum.

The planetary scientists searched for similar soils on Earth, visiting the plateau of Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, the Klamath Mountains in northern California and western Nevada because all three sites have serpentine soils that the researchers predicted would be similar in chemical composition to the amorphous X-ray material in Gale Crater. They also collected data on rainfall, snowfall and temperature.

The results of studying terrestrial soil samples using X-ray diffraction analysis and transmission electron microscopy, which allows examining soil materials in more detail, showed that the subarctic soil collected in Newfoundland has the same amorphous structure and chemical composition as the Martian soil. Soil samples from California and Nevada, located in warmer climates, do not have such a composition.

These results suggest that Martian soil formed in a cold climate with temperatures near freezing. The low temperatures slowed down chemical reactions, so atoms didn’t have enough time to form the characteristic crystal structure. This allowed the amorphous structure to persist over geological timescales.

Source: Lenta.ru