Clay Deposits Don’t Prove Existence of Ancient Martian Lakes

(Before It's News)

HiRISE image of branching features in the floor of Antoniadi Crater thought to contain clay material. (NASA/JPL/University of Arizona)

In the hunt for evidence of a warmer, wetter past on Mars, clay deposits have been viewed as good indications that stable liquid water existed on its surface for some time — perhaps even long enough to allow life to develop. But new research conducted here on Earth shows that some clays don’t necessarily need lakes of liquid water to form. Instead they can be the result of volcanic activity, which is not nearly so hospitable to life.
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© Jason Major for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: clays, Curiosity, Gale crater, life, Mars, Meunier, MSL, planet, Solar System, water

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