Comments on: Ancient Groundwater Flows Revealed on Mars http://www.universetoday.com/2008/09/25/ancient-groundwater-flows-revealed-on-mars/ Space and astronomy news Sun, 8 Nov 2009 10:14:11 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Dave Mullins http://www.universetoday.com/2008/09/25/ancient-groundwater-flows-revealed-on-mars/comment-page-1/#comment-34416 Dave Mullins Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:50:20 +0000 http://www.universetoday.com/?p=18622#comment-34416 I am always skeptical about these reports of new evidence of ground water flow on mars. The images show fissures but they never look like drainage patterns on earth, nor are they correlated with elevation data to show if they even drain anywhere. Many of the larger and more famous examples can be shown to have narrow, thinning ends on both ends rather than outlets and deltas that dump into basins. This article even goes so far as to state that the fissures are probably created by subsurface geologic forces. Furthermore, if the fissures were formed "billions of years ago" "through underground Martian sandstone" and Mars in only 4.6 billion years old, that didn't leave much time for the sandstone to have formed. I am pretty sure that we will find that these fissures were formed by plate techtonics prior to 4 bY and since have been shaped by wind and blowing sand shaping them into channels. The fact that they aren't more defined is testament to the planet's thin atmosphere and thus much slower rate of erosion. I have nothing against the theories of surface water on mars but the evidince I continue to see makes me think that we are looking for evidence of things we want to find rather than doing good, objective science. ~D I am always skeptical about these reports of new evidence of ground water flow on mars. The images show fissures but they never look like drainage patterns on earth, nor are they correlated with elevation data to show if they even drain anywhere. Many of the larger and more famous examples can be shown to have narrow, thinning ends on both ends rather than outlets and deltas that dump into basins.

This article even goes so far as to state that the fissures are probably created by subsurface geologic forces. Furthermore, if the fissures were formed "billions of years ago" "through underground Martian sandstone" and Mars in only 4.6 billion years old, that didn't leave much time for the sandstone to have formed.

I am pretty sure that we will find that these fissures were formed by plate techtonics prior to 4 bY and since have been shaped by wind and blowing sand shaping them into channels. The fact that they aren't more defined is testament to the planet's thin atmosphere and thus much slower rate of erosion.

I have nothing against the theories of surface water on mars but the evidince I continue to see makes me think that we are looking for evidence of things we want to find rather than doing good, objective science.

~D

]]>