Ice Age Mars

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Ice Age Mars

Post #1by PlutonianEmpire » 11.07.2006, 11:16

I found an article about ice ages on mars; it's 3 years old, but still pretty cool. :)

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=13237

According to the researchers, during a Martian ice age, polar warming drives water vapor from polar ice into the atmosphere. The water comes back to ground at lower latitudes as deposits of frost or snow mixed generously with dust. This ice-rich mantle, a few meters thick, smoothes the contours of the land. It locally develops a bumpy texture at human scales, resembling the surface of a basketball, and also seen in some Antarctic icy terrains. When ice at the top of the mantling layer sublimes back into the atmosphere, it leaves behind dust, which forms an insulating layer over remaining ice. On Earth, by contrast, ice ages are periods of polar cooling. The buildup of ice sheets draws water from liquid- water oceans, which Mars lacks.

So, if we terraform mars, we'd see the entire planet encompassed in ice in the early stages of terraforming?
Terraformed Pluto: Now with New Horizons maps! :D

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