More evidence shows Mars once was wet all over

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-07-17 10:31

"In most locations the rocks are lightly altered by liquid water, but in a few locations they have been so altered that a great deal of water must have flushed though the rocks and soil," Mustard said.

Another study, published in Nature Geosciences, found that the wet conditions persisted for a long time. It found evidence of river channels forming a delta where the river emptied into a crater lake.

"The distribution of clays inside the ancient lakebed shows that standing water must have persisted for thousands of years," said Brown University's Bethany Ehlmann.

"Clays are wonderful at trapping and preserving organic matter, so if life ever existed in this region, there's a chance of its chemistry being preserved in the delta."

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