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May 19, 2020 07:00 am
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/m5HETZhv0Rw/mystery-of-lava-like-flows-on-mars-solved-by-scientists
Mystery of Lava-Like Flows On Mars Solved By Scientists
The mystery of some lava-like flows on Mars has been solved by scientists who say they are caused not by lava but by mud. Phys.Org reports: There are tens of thousands of these landforms on the Martian surface, often situated where there are massive channels scoured into the surface by ancient liquids flowing downstream. These channels are extremely long, extending many hundreds of kilometers in length and usually more than dozens of kilometers wide. They are believed to be the result of massive floods involving huge bodies of water comparable to the largest floods ever known to have occurred on Earth. When the water seeps into the subsurface it can emerge again as mud. A European team of researchers has now simulated the movement of mud on the surface of Mars, with the results published in Nature Geoscience. [...] Using the Mars Chamber at the Open University, the scientists recreated the surface temperature and atmospheric pressure on Mars as part of a simulation of conditions on both Earth and Mars. The scientists performed experiments at low pressure and at extremely cold temperatures (-20C) to recreate the Martian environment. They found that free flowing mud under Martian conditions behaves differently from on Earth, because of rapid freezing and the formation of an icy crust. This is because water is not stable and begins to boil and evaporate. The evaporation removes latent heat from the mud, eventually causing it to freeze. Under Martian conditions, the experimental mud flows formed similar shapes to "pahoehoe" lava frequently occurring on Hawaii or Iceland on Earth, which cools down to form smooth undulating surfaces. In the experiment, this happened when liquid mud spilled from ruptures in the frozen crust, then refroze. However, under terrestrial atmospheric pressure, the experimental mud flows did not form lava shapes, did not expand, and had no icy crust, even under very cold conditions.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Original Link: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdot/~3/m5HETZhv0Rw/mystery-of-lava-like-flows-on-mars-solved-by-scientists
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