Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to Misleading

The post itself explains the terminology.

Everyone who reads the post would understand what is meant by the title.
Also, anyone familiar with the terminology as used with regards to Mars would also immediately know what was meant before even reading the post itself. However, since I intended to send this out to people other than Mars researchers, I have changed the subject line on other discussion lists to put the word 'wetter' in quotation marks.
I want to emphasize again: this mistaken idea that Mars' atmosphere always contains many times less water vapor than *anywhere* on Earth is a big reason why many Mars scientists discount the possibility of liquid water on the surface of Mars. Therefore I think it is important that the actual state of affairs is more well known among Mars scientists.
Key also then is that there are isolated spots in Antarctica that still remain liquid even during the period of Antarctic winter when the atmospheric water vapor reaches these extremely low values. One such spot is Don Juan Pond:

"H. This is a picture of Don Juan Pond, the only unfrozen body of water on the entire continent of Antarctica. It's located in the Wright Valley of the Dry Valleys and the "water" in the pond is an almost-saturated solution of calcium chloride. Don Juan Pond is so salty that it doesn't ever freeze, even in the dead of the Antarctic winter."

http://www.science.siu.edu/microbiology/Antarctica/5hDonJuanPond.jpg


Other photos of Don Juan Pond located here:

SIUC Microbiologists in Antarctica!
http://www.science.siu.edu/microbiology/Antarctica/Antarctic.html

Note that such spots in Antarctica are so isolated that they wouldn't have been known from orbital imagery alone. Don Juan Pond was spotted from helicopter surveys and subsequentely investigated on foot.
It may take such similar very low altitude investigation of Mars, perhaps hundreds of feet altitude, before they are discovered there as well.
Here's my suggestion where such surveys should start:

Noctis Labyrinthus.
http://uplink.space.com/attachments//400463-MarsExpressNoctisclouds.jpg


- Bob

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