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 Lets start from here: is there water on mars?

translated using GlobalTranslator®

"Mars is for the most part a desert planet that at one stage was at least earth like. That all changed a long time ago when mars was striped of its atmosphere and  its water , and a large amount of its crust, by a massive impact with one or more asteroids.This fact is not in dispute and scores are still visible everywhere on Mars surface."
NASA has said that, at least on surface, there is no water on Mars. Now.

There are at least three good reason to state this:

- First, it's simply too cold to expect water to be present in a liquid form.  (Mars' ground temperature has been measured to be from 0°C to -120°C.)
- Second, at very low pressure it would simply evaporate in moments.  (Mars' atmosphere is so thin that it is less than 10% of the Earth's.)
- Third: there is no evidence of liquid water on Mars - so far.

Well, there is not much to say about points one and two - everything is right. In such conditions it's absurd to expect to find any water at all.  And, NASA must know what environmental conditions are on Mars.

But point number three is not quite correct.  Actually , there is evidence of liquid water on Mars!

The picture on the right shows a river with running water - in fact, a lot of running water!

Could it be an artifact?  No way.  Check the NASA original, and then notice - there are rapids in the stream, two small islands in the middle of the river, and even clear signs of erosion on the shore.  The upper shore clearly shows a landslip.

 


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NASA MGC MOC M00756

Reliability level of this image: 
HIGH    MEDIUM     LOW    NONE  SHADOWS   

Re-processing operations made
Modified-COLORS   SHARPENING   CONTRASTING
RESIZING   ENLARGING   RESAMPLING

This could be a rare event, almost a thing of unique weirdness, the only survivor of an ancient sea. Right?

Wrong. Take a look at this picture and, once again, you don't need to be a scientist to tell what is on it.

Correct. It is a lake!   And there is more in the full picture M0798

But, there is a lot more to see in this picture - a torrent, mud where the water has evaporated, clear signs of erosion where the water flows, the bank of another lake in the upper right corner, and ice in the lake (but not in the small pools) that makes me suspect that warmth - and water - come from underground, on Mars.

 


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NASA MGC MOC M0798

Reliability level of this image: 
HIGH    MEDIUM     LOW    NONE  SHADOWS   

Re-processing operations made
Modified-COLORS   SHARPENING   CONTRASTING
RESIZING   ENLARGING   RESAMPLING

You think I'm wrong? Ok. Check here to see what NASA scientists say about water on Mars, expecially about lakes. 
Want to go scientific? OK. Have a look at this explanation of how it is possible
(link to external site)

The low concentration of atmospheric water vapor, the small total atmospheric pressure, and sub-freezing temperatures are commonly cited as “proof” that liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars.  However, theoretical and empirical evidence dictate the opposite conclusion.  The regions in which water should exist in liquid form on Mars are those in which the temperature and pressure parameters lie within the envelope approximately defined by 0o C to 12o C (...)  The Pathfinder data showed that the surface temperature of Mars at the landing site rose well above freezing when the sun ascended.  A model providing about one percent moisture to the soil (approximately the same amount of moisture that supports microorganisms in the sand dunes of Death Valley, California) diurnally was created based on Viking and Pathfinder data on atmospheric water vapor content, atmospheric pressure and surface temperature.

 The model predicted that Martian water vapor would be concentrated near the planet’s surface.  A recent paper uses Images for Mars Pathfinder data to support this phenomenon upon which the model was predicated.  And, even more recently, images from the Mars Global Surveyor have been interpreted as strong evidence for current liquid water activity on the surface of Mars at numerous, widespread locations in latitudinal bands in both Northern and Southern hemispheres. Such sporadic incidents as reported could provide liquid water adding to that available from the atmosphere (to which it undoubtedly contributes) as proposed herein.  The new findings confirm the understanding of the physics controlling the phase of water as presented in this paper.

 An instance when the Viking 2 Lander footpad  temperature stalled at 0oC under the rising sun suggested that frozen water in the soil beneath the footpad was absorbing the latent heat of fusion preparatory to melting into liquid phase.  Pathfinder measured the temperature of the near-surface atmosphere and found it to increase exponentially toward the ground.  This effect likely raises surface temperatures above freezing diurnally over wide geographic areas.  Viking images showing the continual presence over many days and months of visible ice cover support the moisture-producing model.  So do data showing that the atmosphere near the ground surface is diurnally saturated with water vapor.  When the Martian surface air over areas of ice is saturated in water vapor, and the temperature of the ice rises to 0ºC, ice must liquefy to be in equilibrium with the water vapor evolved immediately above it.  It seems likely that the Pathfinder-observed phenomenon of exponentially increasing atmospheric temperature with proximity to the surface also obtains in areas of Mars where surface ice has been observed.  If so, frozen water on, or in, the soil must enter the liquid phase when the temperature rises to 0ºC.  As long as the total atmospheric pressure exceeds 6.1 mb, the thin layer of water vapor above the ice will reach its triple point pressure.  Sublimation of the ice cannot occur because of the overpressure; nor can boiling until the water temperature exceeds about 12ºC.  Thus, surface ice and water frozen in soil could liquefy diurnally over wide regions.  (extracted from http://www.biospherics.com/mars/mars/whitepaper.htm)

And what about a waterfall?

This one is huge - a hundred meters high. There is not much fluid coming from the top, but the tracks are evident. Notice that more than falling the water (if it is water) is leaking. Also, the water is not coming from a river, but from the ground itself  supporting the theory of the permafrost. 
Look at the enlargement.


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NASA MGC MOC M1701245d
By the way, NASA admitted recently (April 2001) that there IS water on Mars. More in the Water and Plants section. Don't waste time now checking the authenticity of these images - in the various sections of the site you'll always find the correct NASA link beside each image. Go on with the tour.
Water means life, right? Let's go to next page.
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