The remnants of ancient polar ice sheets buried the north pole of Mars. The newly found layers of ice are considered to be one of the largest reservoirs on the planet. According to the University of Arizona and the University of Texas at Austria made conscious efforts with the help of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and the Shallow Radar (SHARAD). The exact limit of the layered ice sheets could be predicted because SHARAD emits radar waves that can pass through up to a mile and a half beneath the collateral surface of Mars.
According to the Geophysical Research Letters published on May 22 came out with intensive information about the geological content of the ice sheets found in Mars. These findings are referred to be one of the important assets because the polar ice sheets represent the tree rings that were found in the record of the past climate of Earth. Each bit is important for scientists to understand the potential level of Mars. Scientists are now concentrating on the fact that whether these composite layered ices are available to sustain life. Around 90% of sand and ice found on the surface were equivalent to the amount of water found in some places.
Stefano Nerozzi, a lead author and graduate research assistant at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) stated to an outlet that the researchers and the scientists did not believe that there could be so much water in mars. The research scholar is now completing his Ph.D. at the Jackson School of Geosciences. Apart from this, the north pole of Mars is now felt to be the third largest water reservoir after the polar ice caps found on Mars. Scientists believe that if the ice were melted, it would amount to a global layer of water at least 1.5 meters deep.
The authors of the University of Arizona and Texas believe that the ice must have started to accumulate during the ice ages. The ice is protected till date which directs that when the planet would have got warmed; a remaining of the ice caps may be covered by the sand, thus, protecting the ice from solar radiation. In furtherance of this, it even prevented the ice from evaporating or dissipating from the atmosphere.
After 50,000 years, it is seen that Mars is leaning towards the sun. This is actually before it will get to an upright position. According to Nerozzi, it is possible to fulfill all the requirements needed to sustain life, but if all of the ice would stay deposited near the north pole then, it would be difficult to gather sufficient amounts of liquid water at the equator or in its vicinity. The study about the presence of water was promulgated and supported by the NASA Data Analysis Program. Along with that, MRO Project Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory came into a collaboration to complete the study. The Italian Space Agency provided SHARAD to NASA’s MRO mission.
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