2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Ancient subsurface aquifer on Mars; a new hypothesis with validations through different approaches
| Project/Area Number |
23340126
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Solid earth and planetary physics
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Research Collaborator |
Rodriguez Alexis Planetary Science Institute, Senior Scientist
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| Project Period (FY) |
2011-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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| Keywords | 火星 / 水 / 海 / アウトフローチャネル / 水循環 / 生命探査 / 津波 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Series of evidence indicates that ancient Mars had a strong magnet field and holded vast amount of liquid water on its surface, which have intrigued astrobiological interests. We investigated the water circulation system of Mars in terms of ocean formations, subsurface aquifers, and water circulations. The biggest discrepancy in the ocean hypothesis was the failure to identify shoreline features. One discovery of this work offers a simple solution to this long-lasting problem; tsunami modified the shorelines and deposits spread on them. This work also clarified that large amount of water in the subsurface could be identified as numerous depressions, which are essential for the formation of outflow channels. This work also discussed about the possible link between ancient aquifer and recurrent slope lineae (RSLs), which are surface emanations of small amount of water flows, and concluded that RSLs would be the best target for future landing mission to Mars for astrobiological purposes.
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| Free Research Field |
惑星科学
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