The Majestic Valleys of Mars May Not Have Been Carved by Rivers After All - ScienceAlert

The question of whether ancient life could have existed on Mars centres on the water that once flowed there, but new research published Monday suggests that many of the Red Planet's valleys were gouged by icy glaciers not rivers. .

"For the last 40 years, since Mars's valleys were first discovered, the assumption was that rivers once flowed on Mars, eroding and originating all of these valleys," said lead author Anna Grau Galofre in a statement released by the University of British Columbia.

The study authors said their findings suggest that some Martian valleys could have been formed some 3.8 billion years ago by meltwater beneath ice sheets, which they said would align with climate modelling predicting that the planet would have been much cooler in its ancient past. .