Evidence of a shoreline hidden deep beneath the Red Planet’s surface was discovered in 2021 by Chinese researchers using the Rover Zhurong. Recently, an international team obtained new evidence that Mars once had oceans and sandy beaches.
Zhurong studied the planet’s geology in an area known as Utopia Planitia. Unlike other rovers, it was equipped with ground-penetrating radar that could penetrate deep into Martian soil and detect buried rock formations.
Daily Mail reported that when researchers analyzed the ground-penetrating radar data, they discovered a layered structure resembling Earth’s beaches. Scientists identified “coastal” deposits that form when tides and waves carry sediment into a large body of water. When the team compared the rover’s data with images of coastal deposits on Earth, they found a striking similarity.
The researchers say the discovery shows the Red Planet was once far wetter than it is today. It further supports the idea of a ocean that once covered much of Mars’s northern hemisphere.
The researchers also gained new insights into the evolution of Mars’s environment. They suggest a warm, wet period that could have supported life may have persisted for tens of millions of years.
Co-author Benjamin Cardenas at Pennsylvania State University (USA) said: “We found places on Mars that once resembled ancient beaches and river deltas. We also found evidence of wind, waves, and plenty of sand—this really looks like a beach.”
Professor Michael Manga at the University of California, Berkeley (USA) said: “The structures don’t resemble sand dunes. They don’t resemble impact craters. They don’t resemble lava flows. That’s when we started thinking about the ocean.”
He said the research confirmed “the idea that, for a long time, Mars had an ocean that formed sandy beaches.”
The results of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
