In a groundbreaking collaboration, Chinese researchers have joined forces with their international counterparts to identify subsurface dipping reflectors on Mars, providing compelling evidence of an ancient prograding shoreline, according to a recent study published in the journal PNAS.
The findings represent the most direct subsurface evidence supporting the existence of an ancient ocean on the red planet. Previous orbital images suggested that Mars's northern lowlands may have once been covered by a vast ocean spanning a third of the planet's surface. However, this hypothesis had been met with controversy.
The debate centered around the inconsistent elevation distribution of the ancient shorelines inferred from remote sensing data, as well as the numerous impacts, weathering, and resurfacing processes Mars has undergone over the past 4 billion years. These factors may have distorted or obscured the evidence of the ancient ocean's surface.
This new research offers a more definitive subsurface perspective, strengthening the argument for an ancient Martian ocean and enhancing our understanding of the planet's geological history.
