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Marsquakes, Add Water and Shake

Posted by michael on from the all-we-are-is-dust-in-the-wind dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Analysis of Mars orbital data shows northern pit chains as evidence for relatively recent seismic activity. If marsquakes release water-ice to the surface, then such young features may be reshaping and eroding the landscape from below. No modern volcanic or seismic activity has ever been confirmed before. A long-standing mystery is why the northern hemisphere is smooth, while the martian south is so rugged."

12 comments

  1. Well, by cheeseSource · · Score: 0

    That will alter then next DOOM game...

    --
    (Sponsored by cheeseSource for President 2012)
  2. No one here? by lordmoose · · Score: 2, Funny

    There's only one comment so far. That means nobody is reading this story. This looks like the perfect hiding place for those missle-launch codes. --Alpha--Delta--589--Charlie-- Ha ha!

  3. Wrong. by missing000 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I sunk your battleship.

  4. I'm reading it -- but does it deserve comment? by mooncaine · · Score: 1

    Your logic is faulty, as I'm sure you realize. I read it, but I didn't think it called for comment.

    Here's a comment for you, though:

    Wow.

  5. One answer to the myster ;) by alphaFlight · · Score: 3, Informative
    "A long-standing mystery is why the northern hemisphere is smooth, while the martian south is so rugged."

    http://www.metaresearch.org/solar%20system/eph/e ph 2000.asp

    (scroll down 3/4 the page) enjoy ;)
    --
    -= alphaFlight =-
    1. Re:One answer to the myster ;) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Here's another one:

      http://www.creationism.org/patten/PattenMarsEarthW ars/

      This one also attempts to explain the evidence of water activity on mars (in a near vacuum, where liquid water can't exist) as being all part of the same thing.

      Makes sense to *me* but I expect most /.'ers to reject it out of hand because the authros also happen to believe in God.

      But I can tell you that they are not in any way proselytizing, but presenting the scientific evidence as observed in a coherent theory.. very cool read.

    2. Re:One answer to the myster ;) by adavies42 · · Score: 1

      Looks like warmed-over Velikovsky to me. Whether this is good or not depends on your opinion of Veliokovsky. :)

      --
      Media that can be recorded and distributed can be recorded and distributed.
      -kfg
  6. Pit chains by Evil+Pete · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Always wondered how they could be created. This is the first time I've read a plausible explanation, though to tell the truth it is not an issue I have relentlessly pursued. However, I think I first saw such 'pit chains' on lunar photos. I guess that could just be magma, gasses whatever ... probably one thing we will learn from the solar system is that sometimes similar geographical features can be produced by totally different media ... something like the way beaches (berms , cusps etc) can be made on Earth of sand, rock, shells, whatever.

    But the bit about one hemisphere being so smooth ... isn't that one reason why it is hypothesised to be an ocean bed ?

    --
    Bitter and proud of it.
    1. Re:Pit chains by theapodan · · Score: 2, Informative

      Parts of Mars are smooth for the same reason that parts of our moon are smooth, and parts of our earth are smooth. Extrusive vulcanism, and fissure vulcanism in particular, cause the formation of wide lava plains. And because of the low gravity and ineffective cooling on mars and the moon, the lava flows are allowed to smooth out more, making it more noticable.

      The Columbia River plateu is a big fissure eruption that still is extant as a rock unit, and the catoctin formation in the appalachians is a historical one from around 800 million years ago, I think.

      So there was no ocean, at least not restricted to the mare area, although that'd be really cool if there were.

      The real question is, though nobody else seems to care, what are the effects of the incident cosmic radiation on the near surface soils, in particular, the possibility of iron hydroxides losing water to become iron oxides.

  7. mars foo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who really cares about mars? Sure it will mean we will substantially improve our survival chances as a species if we manage to stablish a colony there, but hey, we are back into medieval times wrt social and power structures. So fuck 'em and their attention diverting schemes.

  8. It just makes you want to cry... by jeephistorian · · Score: 1

    This poor thread, so ignored and lost. I just felt I had to add a comment to help it feel wanted....

    ___________

    --
    Huh?
  9. Smooth or Rugged. by Awestruckin · · Score: 0

    Perhaps it's a universal constant? While there may be no life on Mars, the terrain holds the constant true. If you're from the North, you're smooth, semi-docile, and 10% likely to be homosexual. While being from the South tends to leave one rough and rugged and likely to accidentally spit on your own boot.

    I guess we can only wait until we actually find a planet with life to see if this is true for the rest of the galaxy.