Frost has been observed in volcanoes in the Tharsis region of Mars. Researchers have discovered frost on top of volcanoes on Mars. of the planet so far
Considered “impossible” due to temperature.
The discovery indicates that frost has been detected near the planet’s equator, challenging current ideas about the planet’s climate, according to an international team of researchers led by the University of Bern, Switzerland.
The volcanoes in the Tharsis region of Mars, where frost has been observed, are among the tallest in the entire solar system. The ice sits in the volcanoes’ calderas, which are large craters at their summits created during past eruptions, the researchers said.
The way air circulates above these mountains creates a unique “microclimate” that allows thin patches of frost to form.
“We thought it impossible for frost to form around the equator of Mars, where the combination of sunlight and a thin atmosphere keeps surface and mountaintop temperatures relatively high during the day, unlike what we see on Earth,” said Adamas Valentinas, a PhD student at the University of Bern.
“What we’re seeing may be a remnant of an ancient climate cycle on modern Mars, where you may have had precipitation and even snow on these volcanoes in the past,” Valentinas said.
