Martian gullies not formed by water flow
The uncertainty of science: Spectroscopy of many of the gullies on Mars strongly suggests that water had nothing to do with their formation, even though these gullies resemble closely similar gullies on Earth that were carved by flowing water..
Color coding in light blue corresponds to surface composition of unaltered mafic material, of volcanic origin. Mafic material from the crater rim is carved and transported downslope along the gully channels. No hydrated minerals are observed within the gullies, in the data from CRISM, indicating limited interaction or no interaction of the mafic material with liquid water. These findings and related observations at about 100 other gully sites on Mars suggest that a mechanism not requiring liquid water may be responsible for carving these gullies on Mars. (Gullies on Mars are a different type of feature than seasonal dark streaks called recurring slope lineae or RSL; water in the form of hydrated salt has been identified at RSL sites.) [emphasis mine]
In other words, these gullies were formed by flowing lava, not water. Considering Mars’s lower gravity, one third that of Earth’s, we should not be surprised if lava is capable of doing things there that it is not generally capable of doing on Earth. In fact, we should remind ourselves constantly that Mars is an alien planet, and that conditions there are different enough to make any predictions based on our knowledge of Earth very unreliable.
More details here.
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The uncertainty of science: Spectroscopy of many of the gullies on Mars strongly suggests that water had nothing to do with their formation, even though these gullies resemble closely similar gullies on Earth that were carved by flowing water..
Color coding in light blue corresponds to surface composition of unaltered mafic material, of volcanic origin. Mafic material from the crater rim is carved and transported downslope along the gully channels. No hydrated minerals are observed within the gullies, in the data from CRISM, indicating limited interaction or no interaction of the mafic material with liquid water. These findings and related observations at about 100 other gully sites on Mars suggest that a mechanism not requiring liquid water may be responsible for carving these gullies on Mars. (Gullies on Mars are a different type of feature than seasonal dark streaks called recurring slope lineae or RSL; water in the form of hydrated salt has been identified at RSL sites.) [emphasis mine]
In other words, these gullies were formed by flowing lava, not water. Considering Mars’s lower gravity, one third that of Earth’s, we should not be surprised if lava is capable of doing things there that it is not generally capable of doing on Earth. In fact, we should remind ourselves constantly that Mars is an alien planet, and that conditions there are different enough to make any predictions based on our knowledge of Earth very unreliable.
More details here.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Off-topic: Mr. Zimmerman, do know something about a planned Russian mission to Jupiter’s moon Ganymede?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhA08xadaVo
Alex: As I cannot speak Russian I can’t really comment on the video at the link. However, Anatoly Zak gives these details at his website, RussianSpaceWeb.com,
Unfortunately, he posts no further information, so I do not know if the contract was ever awarded.
Mr. Zimmerman: Thanks. My command in Russian language is also very limited, but automatic translation of sub-title helps a little bit. They are talking much about this future mission to Ganymede, but I am wondering about hardware that is shown in report. I am not sure. Did they already built some hardware elements or is this ill-fated “Fobos-Grunt” probe, which shall deliver major components for Laplace probe as Mr. Zak wrote. Nevertheless, I cannot imagine that there is enough money in Russia to realize such an ambitious project.
Alex: I suspect you are right. If you look at all their proposed interplanetary unmanned missions listed on Zak’s website, you will see that all of them are in the same situation as this Ganymede mission, proposed a few years ago but as far as I can tell, never implemented. They have great ambitions, but no money to carry them out.
Mr. Zimmerman: It so sad, they have ambitions, good ideas, deep knowledge and experiences and also some interesting technologies, but no money for required high level quality management and systems engineering. Remember, a few days before Russia launched Fobos-Grunt some years ago, technicians rewired some electrical connections of the probe, which was already placed atop the launcher (if I remember correctly), because a design error becomes known at last moment. Fobos-Grunt was also significantly underfinanced.
I think, best what Russia can do at present in unmanned missions scenario is to cooperate with ESA – as already happens in case of Mars – by delivering launcher (Proton) and some probe elements as experiments or propulsion.