New gravity analysis of Mars confirms the existence of the ancient ocean
(ORDO NEWS) — The first use of the new method of analyzing the gravitational power of Mars confirms the idea that there once was a vast northern ocean on the planet.
At the same time, the method determines in more detail the extent of what scientists call the northern Martian paleocean.
The work was published in Icarus Magazine.
The study was led by Yaroslav Klokochnik, professor emeritus at the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Gunter Kletchka, associate professor at the Geophysical Institute of Alaska University in Fairbanks, is one of the three co-authors.
The work of Kletchka and his colleagues differs from the traditional approach to mapping the surface based only on gravitational anomalies.
Gravity anomalies are areas of greater or lesser gravitational force created by the surface features of the planetary body. The mountain would have a greater gravitational effect, because it has a higher concentration of mass than would be expected on the planet without surface features. Ocean troughs and gutters would have less gravitational power.
In their research on Mars, the authors used the process developed by the Klokochnik, which analyzes the gravitational aspects calculated on the basis of measurements of gravitational anomalies. Gravity aspects are mathematical products that characterize gravitational anomalies.
Scientists also used topographic data from NASA Mars Global Surveyor, which was launched in November 1996.
The clerk used this approach to confirm earlier studies on the existence of extensive Paleozoic systems under the sand of the Sahara on Earth in his 2017 research work.
The method of gravitational aspects was also used when comparing the geographical features of the Earth with the features covered by the clouds of Venus. This study is described in an article published in July 2023 in Scientific Reports.
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