If huge amounts of water are present on Mars as the current measurements would appear to indicate: Why didn't the H2O-ice sublimate into the atmosphere and get split into hydrogen and oxygen by the solar radiation? Wouldn't that have left Mars with an Oxygen rich atmosphere as the Hydrogen was dissipated from the planet? Granted some of the Oxygen would get locked up in mineral deposits on the surface; however, as the sublimation and dissipation would be continuing today, wouldn't you expect Mars to have more Oxygen in its atmosphere than it does now.

Or are you saying that the Water isn't there in the quanities that some want us to believe: Now or in the past...IF that is the case, how do you think the current measurements are flawed?

Interesting topic. Unfortunatly (or maybe fortunatly) we need to send geologists to Mars to find the answers. There appears to be a lot of contradictory evidence.

Scott