Mars coasts were devastated by tsunamis 120m – Diario Uno

The study notes that natural disasters is difficult to find on Earth comparable to those suffered by Mars. In the picture, fast forward a glacier in Saskatchewan (Canada). UAB Quality

Current Pictures taken in the northern plains of Mars just unveil one of the most violent and unknown in the history of our neighbor in the solar system chapters.

For some decades is thought that the Red Planet was blue like Earth billions of years ago. Many studies have provided evidence that the north of the planet hosted a great ocean. Last year, an analysis of the chemical composition of the atmosphere by NASA claimed that there was enough water to cover the entire planet. The big problem to accept this hypothesis is that lack of conclusive evidence that the area has shorelines, as expected.

A new study published today confirms the existence of that ancient ocean and provides an explanation surprising for the absence of geological traces of it: two huge tsunamis destroyed completely the coasts of the planet

the study, published in Scientific Reports, dating back to some 3,400 million years ago.. It is based on images taken by three generations of Martian exploration probes launched by NASA: Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. After analyzing the material, scientists from six countries, including Spain, conclude that there are distinct geological traces of two mega tsunamis that were caused by the impact of asteroids that left craters about 30 km in diameter.

“The waves caused by the tsunami could have reached 120 meters high on the coastline, penetrating the continent distances up to 700 kilometers “, explain Mario Zarroca and Rogelio Linares, researchers from the department of Geology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, in a press release issued by the institution.

It is difficult to find disaster of this magnitude even in the most violent stages of the geological history of the Earth. The first tsunami dragged boulders of more than 10 meters in diameter, leaving behind large deposits of sediment and rocks and dug by retreating flood that have been identified thanks to high-resolution images channels.

“the gentle topography of the northern lowlands of Mars, as well as the particular conditions of propagation of the waves under a gravity well below the Earth would have meant that the distances of flooding were huge compared to those observed on Earth “the authors emphasize.

the two tsunamis occurred in the span of a few million years, a time during which the sea level lowered the climate became colder. The second tsunami left behind large masses of ice called lobes. For future exploration missions, these glaciers languages ​​are a real time machine to meet the extinct Martian ocean. “These materials are relatively close to landing site [mission] Mars Pathfinder,” said Alexis Rodriguez, a researcher at NASA Ames center and first author of the study. “The fact that many of the lobes have well-defined boundaries and still retain their characteristic morphology suggests that probably still contain frozen ancient ocean and could have preserved its primary composition brine”, stressed.

although the study has spectacular data, it is also entirely plausible in geological terms. “On Earth there are numerous records of existence of tsunamis and no wonder, if the models are correct, that existed on Mars when the planet shared environments similar to ours”, explains Jesús Martínez-Frías, researcher at the Institute of Geosciences (CSIC- UCM) and member of the science team of NASA-MSL (Curiosity rover) mission. It also highlights, “meteorite impacts are, next to volcanism, the most common geological processes in the solar system.” In this expert on Martian geology and habitability, although a previous study had already toyed with the hypothesis of tsunamis, this is “the one who has brought a greater level of detail so far.”