Recent water action detected on Mars

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, June 25 (UPI) -- Areas of Mars may have been shaped by liquid water in recent geologic times, suggesting more favorable conditions for life, European researchers say.

Scientists at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, along with colleagues from Germany, said their study shows large parts of the planet's Northern Hemisphere have undergone a number of freeze-thaw cycles, similar to what occurs on Earth.

"This process is common in our own arctic permafrost environments and causes the formation of lobate features on slopes," Andreas Johnsson of Gothenburg's Department of Earth Sciences said in a release Monday.

Lobate features consist of piles of rock debris below cliffs, caused when melting ice saturates near-surface sediment, which then begins to move downward over still-frozen permafrost due to gravity.

"As the martian landscapes we're studying feature ground-ice, our interpretation is that liquid water has been available in the ground during thaw periods," Johnsson said.

"Consequently there must have been liquid water in large areas, which is interesting for our understanding of past climates."

Transient liquid water suggests more favorable environments for life on Mars, researchers said, since organisms can survive for long periods without water in cold environments on Earth but there must be access to water at certain times.