Scientists Solve Mystery of Water Loss on Mars

Martian surface conditions are currently dry, frozen, and unfriendly. However, new evidence suggests that the surface was once a warm environment, where water flows, and has the potential to support life.

Scientists have not been able to answer the mystery of what happens to all the water there. Previous research has revealed, most of the water lost to the atmosphere due to high winds after the planet's magnetic field collapsed, or locked into ice beneath the surface.

On the other hand, a study in the journal Nature shows, most of the water may be absorbed by rocks.

Scientists at the University of Oxford found that bedrocks on Mars can hold up 25% more water than they do on Earth. This allows them to suck most of the H2O from the surface of Mars.

"The tectonic plate system on Earth today prevents drastic changes in the water surface, with wet rocks being dehydrated efficiently before entering relatively dry layers on Earth," said Jon Wade, lead author of the study.

He also said that Earth and Mars do not have such a recycling system. On Mars, water that reacts to the newly erupted lava (lava) that forms the basal crust, produces a sponge-like effect.

"The planetary water is then reacted with rocks to form various minerals that contain water, which alters the mineralogy of rocks and causes the planet's surface to become dry and inhospitable to life," he said.

Wade explained that this process takes place on Mars, not on Earth, because Mars is much smaller with different temperature profiles and contains more iron in its mantle - the geological layer between the crust and the inner core. This property makes the Martian surface more susceptible to reactions with surface water and capable of forming water-containing minerals.

"Because of these factors, the planet's geological chemistry naturally drags water into the mantle, whereas on Earth, hydrated rocks tend to float until they become dehydrated.

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