This image shows a number of craters in Arabia Terra that are filled with layered rock, often exposed in rounded mounds. The image was taken by a camera, the High Resolution Imaging Experiment, on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Team studied thermal inertia to understand how rock layers were formed.
As part of a team of collaborators from Northern Arizona University and Johns Hopkins University, NAU PhD prospect Ari Koeppel just recently discovered that water was as soon as present in an area of Mars called Arabia Terra.
Arabia Terra remains in the northern latitudes of Mars. Named in 1879 by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, this ancient land covers a location slightly bigger than the European continent. Arabia Terra includes craters, volcanic calderas, canyons, and beautiful bands of rock reminiscent of sedimentary rock layers in the Painted Desert or the Badlands.
These layers of rock and how they formed was the research focus for Koeppel together with his consultant, associate professor Christopher Edwards of NAUs Department of Astronomy and Planetary Science in addition to Andrew Annex, Kevin Lewis, and undergraduate student Gabriel Carrillo of Johns Hopkins University. Their research study, titled “A fragile record of fleeting water on Mars,” was moneyed by the NASA Mars Data Analysis Program and recently published in the journal Geology.
” We were particularly interested in utilizing rocks on the surface of Mars to get a much better understanding of previous environments three to 4 billion years earlier and whether there could have been weather conditions that were appropriate for life on the surface area,” Koeppel stated. “We had an interest in whether there was steady water, the length of time there might have been steady water, what the atmosphere may have resembled and what the temperature level on the surface might have resembled.”
In support of their Mars research study, Koeppel (left) and Edwards (ideal) performed an analog study in a cinder field near Flagstaff, Ariz. At the Flagstaff research study site, they gathered data in the field and compared it with the data gathered from the drones, mimicing satellite imagery. Credit: Northern Arizona University
In order to get a better understanding of what happened to develop the rock layers, the researchers focused on thermal inertia, which defines the capability of a material to alter temperature. By looking at surface temperatures, they were able to identify the physical homes of rocks in their research study area.
” No one had actually done a thorough thermal inertia investigation of these truly fascinating deposits that cover a large portion of the surface of Mars,” Edwards said.
“Just like geologists on Earth, we look at rocks to try to tell stories about previous environments,” Koeppel said. “On Mars, were a little bit more minimal. There are a handful of satellites orbiting Mars, and each satellite hosts a collection of instruments.
Through a series of investigations using this remotely gathered information, they took a look at thermal inertia, plus evidence of erosion, the condition of the craters and what minerals existed.
” We figured out these deposits are much less cohesive than everybody formerly believed they were, showing that this setting might just have had water for just a quick duration of time,” stated Koeppel. “For some people, that kind of draws the air out of the story since we typically believe that having more water for more time implies theres a greater opportunity of life having actually been there at one point. What are the conditions that could have enabled there to be water there for a short amount of time?
Koeppel started his college profession in engineering and physics however changed to studying the geological sciences while earning his masters degree at The City College of New York. He concerned NAU to work with Edwards and immerse himself in the flourishing planetary science neighborhood of Flagstaff.
The universe is astoundingly huge, even Mars is simply the suggestion of the iceberg,” Koeppel stated. Were starting to study it at levels that are comparable to ways weve been able to study Earth, and its a really interesting time for Mars science.”
Recommendation: “A delicate record of short lived water on Mars” by Ari H.D. Koeppel, Christopher S. Edwards, Andrew M. Annex, Kevin W. Lewis and Gabriel J. Carrillo, 20 October 2021, Geology.DOI: 10.1130/ G49285.1.
The image was taken by a cam, the High Resolution Imaging Experiment, on NASAs Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. In support of their Mars research, Koeppel (left) and Edwards (right) carried out an analog study in a cinder field near Flagstaff, Ariz. The universe is astoundingly big, even Mars is just the suggestion of the iceberg,” Koeppel stated. “But weve been studying Mars for a few years now, and at this point, we have a big accumulation of information. Were starting to study it at levels that are equivalent to ways weve been able to study Earth, and its an actually amazing time for Mars science.”
