Glaciers on Earth today were formed by the Ice Age that lasted between 110,000 and 12,000 years ago.
The glaciers continued to expand or decline several times during this period, and the greatest extent of glaciers on the Earth’s surface was 18,000 years ago, the last ice age.
However, it turns out that the Ice Age on Mars was much longer than on Earth. Researchers at Colgate University in the U.S. have published a study showing that 6-20 ice ages have been sustained over 300-800 million years on the surface of Mars through a new method of analysis.
Geologists analyze images of glaciers taken from Mars reconnaissance orbiting satellites and conclude that an ice age has existed over 300 million years. The picture is the surface of Mars taken by a Mars reconnaissance orbiting satellite. ⒸNASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Rocks in the glacier image, AIAs analysis
The paper was published on the 19th (U.S. local time) in the PNAS (National Academy of Sciences Newsletter).
The title is’Surface boulder banding indicates Martian debris-covered glaciers formed over multiple glaciations’.
According to the U.S. scientific paper site’Eurekalat’ on the 20th, debate continues among scientists studying Mars whether the glaciers covering the surface of Mars have formed continuously or temporarily over a long period of time.
The reason for the debate was that it was not known whether the areas believed to have been covered by glaciers were formed during the Ice Age or multiple times over millions of years.
If the Ice Age is caused by a change in the inclination of the planet’s axis, the question can be solved, such as’how the orbit and climate of Mars changed, so what kinds of rocks, gases, and even microbes could be trapped in the ice’. Could explain.
An image of a glacier on the surface of Mars taken from a Mars reconnaissance orbiting satellite. This image shows that the ice contains many rocks. It indicates that glacial sediments covered with debris have formed during ice accumulation. © Joe Levy/Colgate University
In this atmosphere, Professor Joe Levy, a geologist at Colgate University, applied a groundbreaking new method of analysis.
As the rocks in the glaciers sink over time, an analysis by’natural experiment’ to understand how these rocks settled over time and how long the ice age lasted on Mars. Say the way.
To conduct the study, the research team collected 45 high-resolution images from Mars reconnaissance orbit satellites that are believed to have been covered with ice. Professor Levy said, “I was able to identify table-sized objects with an image of 25cm per pixel.”
The research team that collected the images used artificial intelligence to figure out the size and number of rocks in them. However, as the photos were taken from above, it was impossible to accurately determine whether these rocks were on the rough surface of the glacier or were contained in the glacier.
Results of the first geological study on glaciers
So, with the help of 10 students, the research team began the work of individualizing and analyzing about 60,000 rocks.
And they mapped these rocks one by one in a virtual reality system, and Professor Levy said, “Surprisingly, the rocks in the virtual reality were talking about the Martian glacier.”
What surprised the research team after the work was done was not the size of the rock, but the arrangement of the rocks. “This allows us to see how the rock is moving in relation to the glacial flow,” Levy said. “Based on this data, we have been able to conclude that Mars has undergone 6-20 individual ice ages in the last 300-800 million years,” Levy said.
The best contributors to this study are students. The list of authors published on PNAS includes the names of six students, Will Cipolli, professor of mathematics, and colleagues at NASA, University of Arizona, Pittsburgh State University, and University of Texas-Austin.
Professor Levy said, “This paper explains how the orbit and tilt of Mars have changed over the past hundreds of millions of years, so how it affects the surface of Mars, and how it has changed geologically. Academic evidence.”
The results of this study are of great academic significance in that they have geologically analyzed the glaciers on Mars. It also opens up the possibility to trace the long history of Mars through the analysis of images that appear to be glaciers in the future.
Of particular note is whether the research team’s natural testing method can detect signs of life on Mars.
The team is currently mapping the remaining glacial areas on Mars’ surface that have not been analyzed. He said he is looking for a way to allow artificial intelligence to identify rocks through the data obtained so far, analyze its properties, and analyze the rest of the rocks in more detail.
Among them is work to understand the past history and climate of Mars. In particular, we plan to keep track of whether brine and liquid water existed on Mars, and whether there was a warm and humid period or place.
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