- Mars had lakes billions of years agoThey eventually dried up and disappeared when Mars' climate became too cold and its atmosphere too thin to support liquid water.
- Which lake was the largest? The Mars Express spacecraft has taken new images of a vast ancient lake bed, named Lake Eridania by Earth scientists. It was the largest known lake on Mars, larger than any known terrestrial lake.
- The lake bed lies in a region of ancient volcanic terrain. with mounds, cracks and ridges.
Mars may be only half the size of Earth, but – partly because of its low gravity – its geological features are… bigThe red world has canyons and volcanoes far larger than any on our planet. Now there is evidence that one of Mars' ancient lakes was also larger than any known lake on Earth. The European Space Agency (ESA) saying On August 7, 2024, his Mars Express The orbiter obtained new views of the ancient lake bed in a region called Chaos of CaralisThis lake bed, which presumably contained water billions of years ago, once covered more than a million square kilometers (386,000 square miles).
That's about three times larger than the Caspian Seathe largest inland body of water on Earth. Earthly scientists call this ancient Martian lake Lake Eridania.
A vast ancient lake on Mars
The ancient lake bed, which has been dry for billions of years, is dotted with raised mounds. Scientists say they formed when Martian winds blew dust away. Later, it seems, water covered the dust. And still later, when the water disappeared from the surface of Mars, the dust dried again and disintegrated into the mounds we see today.
Some ancient lake basins can still be seen in Caralis Chaos, but Lake Eridania is the largest of all. It is the largest lake on Mars, larger than any other known terrestrial lake. The water in this massive lake eventually disappeared, along with the rest of the water on Mars. How did that happen? Again, because of Mars' low gravity, the planet couldn't hold onto much of an atmosphere. Therefore, today, the atmosphere on Mars is thin. Also, Mars is farther from the sun than Earth. Therefore, without an atmosphere to help it warm up, Mars cooled down. Scientists say that over time, the massive lake, Lake Eridania, turned into a series of smaller lakes as it dried up.
When it was a single lake, it contained enough water to fill the Caspian Sea almost three times. The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water on Earth. It is approximately 1,200 kilometers long by 320 kilometers wide.
Chaos of Caralis
Caralis Chaos is what scientists call chaotic terrainThese are areas where mountains, plateaus, cracks and fissures are arranged in confusing patterns.
So there is evidence that there was once liquid water in this region, and there is also evidence of past volcanism in Caralis Chaos: two huge faults, or rifts, that run through the region. Mermaid pits faults. They were formed when the Tharsis A plateau region formed. That upwelling caused tension in the crust of Mars, creating the faults. The largest volcanoes on the planet, including Mount Olympusare located in the Tharsis region. And, in fact, Mount Olympus itself may have Once was an island!
There are also many “wrinkle” ridges on Caralis Chaos. These are also of volcanic origin and a common feature on volcanic plains. They form when new layers of lava are compressed. Since the layers are still soft, they bend and deform easily. Wrinkle ridges are also common. On the moon.
As on much of Mars, impact craters are also common here. Notably, a large central crater in this region has valleys carved into its southern rim. Scientists say this may be evidence that some water still exists even after the lake dried up. Other craters also feature small gullies, while others have been heavily eroded over time by Martian winds.
Did Mars' water hide underground?
Speaking of how water disappeared from Mars, it now appears that much or even most of it has simply gone underground. You can read about the new evidence from a A vast ocean of liquid water Still existing There may be remnants of this type in the present-day Martian crust, such as Lake Eridania and other lakes, as well as a possible ocean that once covered much of Mars' northern hemisphere.
Bottom line: Lake Eridania was once the largest known lake on Mars. It was larger than any lake on Earth and contained three times as much water as the Caspian Sea.
Read more: Oceans of water in the depths of Mars?
Read more: Mission to Mars will send Blue and Gold satellites to the red planet
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