1. Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
2. Department of Geomatic Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
3. Geosciences Institute, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, Building D, 12249 Berlin, Germany
4. DLR-Institut für Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstrasse 2, D-12489 Berlin-Adlershof, Germany
5. Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy, Max-Plank-Strasse 2, 37191 Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
6. Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
7. ESA Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC/SCI-SR postbus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
8. Department of Mineralogy, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5PB, UK
9. Environmental Science Department, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
10. A list of all members of The HRSC Co-Investigator Team and their affiliations appears at the end of the paper

Correspondence to: John B. Murray¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.B.M. (Email: J.B.Murray@open.ac.uk).

Abstract

It is thought that the Cerberus Fossae fissures on Mars were the source of both lava and water floods^{1, 2, 3, 4} two to ten million years ago^{1, 2, 5}. Evidence for the resulting lava plains has been identified in eastern Elysium^{1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8}, but seas and lakes from these fissures and previous water flooding events were presumed to have evaporated and sublimed away^{9, 10, 11}. Here we present High Resolution Stereo Camera images from the European Space Agency Mars Express spacecraft that indicate that such lakes may still exist. We infer that the evidence is consistent with a frozen body of water, with surface pack-ice, around 5° north latitude and 150° east longitude in southern Elysium. The frozen lake measures about 800 900 km in lateral extent and may be up to 45 metres deep—similar in size and depth to the North Sea. From crater counts, we determined its age to be 5 2 million years old. If our interpretation is confirmed, this is a place that might preserve evidence of primitive life, if it has ever developed on Mars.

1. Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
2. Department of Geomatic Engineering, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
3. Geosciences Institute, Freie Universität Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, Building D, 12249 Berlin, Germany
4. DLR-Institut für Planetenforschung, Rutherfordstrasse 2, D-12489 Berlin-Adlershof, Germany
5. Max Planck Institute for Aeronomy, Max-Plank-Strasse 2, 37191 Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany
6. Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
7. ESA Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC/SCI-SR postbus 299, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The Netherlands
8. Department of Mineralogy, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5PB, UK
9. Environmental Science Department, Lancaster University, Bailrigg, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK
10. A list of all members of The HRSC Co-Investigator Team and their affiliations appears at the end of the paper

Correspondence to: John B. Murray¹ Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.B.M. (Email: J.B.Murray@open.ac.uk).

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