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Mars Orbiter Finds Buried Dry Ice Lake

RedEaredSlider writes "NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found a giant buried deposit of dry ice, which could be evidence that Mars once had a thicker atmosphere and was able to have more water on its surface. The orbiter's ground-penetrating radar found the dry ice, which is frozen carbon dioxide, near the planet's south pole. The scientists think that when Mars' axial tilt increases, the carbon dioxide turns into a gas, thickening the atmosphere. The result would be more intense dust storms, but also a wider range of areas where liquid water could exist."

6 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Dry ice by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Actually, if you want to go for the +1 funny anticipation of the global warming troll, The argument should probably be that this is an example of What Carbon Sequestration Will Do... At the prodding of Al(ien) Gore and his envirofascist minions, the Martians turned their formerly habitable planet into a desert wasteland through reckless carbon sequestration spurred by the 'global warming' conspiracy...

  2. Terraforming 101 by History's+Coming+To · · Score: 2, Funny

    Nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. Use a bunch of hydrogen bombs, or better a big parabolic death-ray....sorry, life-mirror, and vapourise the caps. Then scatter as much simple CO2 metabolising life as possible over the temperate regions. Sit back and watch evolution take hold. Might take a while. Just an idea...

    --
    Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
  3. Late-Breaking News from the Council by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Funny
    Laughter and derision swept through our world today as the Council of Elders confirmed the rumors that an orbiting mechanized invader from the sinister blue planet third from our star had been spending an inordinate amount of time examining one of our world's most commonly-available resources.

    K'Breel, Speaker for the Council, stressed yet again that there was no cause for alarm:

    "This invader last located the remains of the northern invader which stands frozen to the spot, its flailing futilely in the wind. If these beings seek to attempt a second invasion from the south, it shall meet the same fate as their last attempt three years ago. The fools! The resources they study are so common that they compose 95% of our air!"

    When a junior climatologist pointed out that the atmosphere of the blue world, holding a mere 0.04% carbox, was sadly lacking in this vital atmospheric component, and that the blue world's inhabitants had not only spent centuries trying to generate much as possible of it to supplant their meager atmospheric supply, but had even murdered millions of their own kind in struggles for control of their world's vital carboxogenic hydrocarbounds, K'breel (in his infinite mercy) had the contents of the junior climatologist's gelsacs extracted, gasified with pure compressed carbox, and consumed it as a refreshing drink.

  4. So? by squiggly12 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does this mean Quaid screws everything up???

  5. Re:Wowza by similar_name · · Score: 4, Funny

    Are there any simple ways to turn it onto C and O2?

    I can't resist. Plants. :)

  6. Re:Wowza by c6gunner · · Score: 1, Funny

    See, this is why the human race is doomed

    No, this is why the human race is FUCKING AWESOME!!!!