On Mars, Does Fire Plus Ice Equal Life?

Sept. 5, 2008 -- If life on Mars exists, it may dwell in a violent home.

The Red Planet is no stranger to fiery volcanic eruptions: It is home to the solar system's largest volcano, Olympus Mons. The planet is also well-endowed with ice, which has collected in large sheets near its north and south poles. Yet a key ingredient for life as we know it -- liquid water -- remains elusive.

But what if fire met ice in the Martian north? On Earth, volcanoes sometimes erupt beneath glaciers, melting huge quantities of water and spawning massive floods. Lakes of meltwater are sometimes pinned at the bottoms of glaciers.

Could the same happen on Mars? If so, it might be one of the best places to look for alien life. Now a new study published this month in the planetary science journal Icarus claims to have found evidence of just such an event in the Abalos region, at the edge of the northern ice cap.

Led by Neils Hovius of the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, a team of researchers examined images from several Mars mapping missions and found what they believe are telltale signs that a massive flood swept southward from the ice cap 20,000 years ago, carving two channels in a V shape.

Along one side, the V extends 75 miles, and 12 miles on the other. Where the channels meet, the team also noticed a series of flat, mesa-like rock formations that could be the volcanoes themselves.

"It's possible that volcanic activity on Mars is much more widespread and recent than people on the whole thought," Hovius said. "This is a flood bigger than anything we've seen on Earth."