Editor's Summary
8 March 2007
Martian water goes global
The evaporite deposits in the Meridiani Planum region on Mars, investigated by the Opportunity rover vehicle, have been interpreted as evidence for the presence of a fluctuating water table. But there is a problem: there is no topographic basin in this region to account for the presence of evaporates in the first place. A new hydrological modelling study circumvents this difficulty by presenting a mechanism by which evaporites could have formed at Meridiani without the need for water to collect in an enclosed basin, as a result of sustained global groundwater upwelling and evaporation.
News and Views: Planetary science: Water cycling on Mars
The Meridiani Planum region on Mars is rich in minerals derived from evaporation, but lacks a topography consistent with standing water. Do the deposits stem from upwelling groundwater early in the planet's history?
Victor R. Baker
doi:10.1038/446150b
Letter: Meridiani Planum and the global hydrology of Mars
Jeffrey C. Andrews-Hanna, Roger J. Phillips and Maria T. Zuber
doi:10.1038/nature05594
First paragraph | Full Text | PDF (663K) | Supplementary information
