Global warming on Mars

Captain Morgan · 07-17-2008, 02:27 PM

Just waiting for Al Gore to come to this conclusion: If climate change (i.e. global warming) is causing ice to melt in Alaska, the same thing must be happening on Mars, and WE'RE to blame.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200807...alaskaarealike

Little did Bucknell University geology professors Craig Kochel and Jeffrey Trop know, as they were working in Alaska, that they would soon predict one of the most important planetary observations ever made.

The pair was in Alaska for an eight-day trip in July 2006, studying geological features and the processes that create them. As they studied photographs taken of the surrounding area, some features caught Kochel's eye. He thought they were strangely familiar, and then realized they reminded him of images he'd seen when working on the Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s.

Kochel and Trop trekked to where the shots were taken overlooking a glacier. Spotting triangle-shaped landforms called "fans" sealed the deal: They looked strikingly similar to photographs taken of features on Mars.

Mystery solved

Although geologists can usually tell what shapes the landscape around us, it was a mystery what formed the Mars-like features found in Alaska.

The conditions on Mars are quite different than anything experienced on Earth. For example, Mars is much colder than even the Arctic — the average martian temperature is -81 degrees F (-63 degrees C) — and the planet's atmospheric pressure is lower than Earth's. Still, for the same features to be present on Earth and Mars, the two professors suspected similar processes would have made them.

They had just over a week in Alaska to discover what created the glaciers and fans.

During this time they managed to see an impressive 289 events, including rock falls and floods. The vast majority of these events were snow and ice avalanches. The frequency of these avalanches astounded the scientists, who reasoned that climate change was the most likely culprit. As temperatures rise, the glaciers pull back, creating large areas where ice has been separated. Material can fall down these cracks and lead to avalanches. This was creating the features seen in Alaska, and perhaps the same thing had happened on Mars.

An astounding prediction

Realizing the importance of this discovery, Kochel and Trop presented their findings to a NASA lunar and planetary science meeting. Their comparisons were based on older photographs of Mars, but the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was sending back new pictures which further confirmed the idea of avalanches on Mars.

Kochel and Trop explained that with a bit of luck and good timing, it would be possible to snap photographs of martian avalanches.

Amazingly, soon afterwards the orbiter sent back images of an ice flow avalanche in action on Mars. Pieces of ice, dust and possibly rocks crashed down from high, steep areas, sending clouds of fine material billowing upwards. The cloud itself was about 590 feet (180 meters) across. The exact cause of the avalanche isn't known with certainty, but it could be because the sun warmed layers of ice.

This was the first time an avalanche had been observed on another world, and was the perfect confirmation of Kochel and Trop's ideas.

Valuable research

Studies like this help us understand the changes that take place during periods of climate variation. They also show that although planets like the Earth and Mars are very different places, in many ways they can be astoundingly similar.

The details of this paper will also be of interest to astrobiologists. Searching for water on other worlds is thought to be a key step toward finding life, and understanding how the water cycle takes place on Mars will help scientists make more accurate predictions. Couple water with a dynamic world experiencing changes to its landscape, and Mars looks all the more promising for life (My edit: The beginning of the article says average temp is -81*F. Who the fuck would want to live there??)

Kochel and Trop's research paper was published in the July issue of the journal Icarus.

Audiomechanic · 07-17-2008, 03:52 PM

Us dirty rotten humans are polluting the earth so much that it's spilling out to mars now?!?! I GOTTA GO BUY SOME CARBON CREDITS QUICK!!!!!!!!

Dave · 07-17-2008, 04:22 PM

clearly its because the mars rovers werent hybrid electric

kinda hard to ''go green'' on a red planet isint it?

Audiomechanic · 07-17-2008, 05:29 PM

Oh man am I sick of the "go green" crap. "Go green" this and "eco" that. AAAAAHH!!!! It's all retarted. No I will NOT "go green." I will "go" whatever the hell color I feel like.

Mr Lefty · 07-17-2008, 05:37 PM

actually what Al Gore says in his movie isn't that we're causing global warming... global warming is a natural cycle that the earth goes through, and has gone through thousands of times... it's that we're speeding it up and making what seems to be (from a scientific stand point) the most drastic cycle change yet.

if you haven't seen the movie... I'd sudgest you watch it... keep an open mind... lots of good points... not saying I 100% agree with Al Gore... just that it's OBVIOUS that a lot of what we do harms the plannet... so why not research ways of continueing to do what we do with less impact? seems like common sense to me.

Audiomechanic · 07-17-2008, 05:51 PM

Does he explain how he invented the internet?

Sorry, not going to waste my time with that. I don't care what the man's politcal standpoint is, I just think he's an idiot.

Mr Lefty · 07-17-2008, 06:11 PM

close minded much?

Audiomechanic · 07-17-2008, 06:30 PM

Not really. I'm not going to take advice from someone who's house burns 10 times the energy mine does. Not to mention someone who "went green" on his house and is now burning MORE energy than before he "went green."

Just like if I want financial advice, I'm not going to ask a broke person.

Mr Lefty · 07-17-2008, 07:12 PM

just busting your chops...

but as far as his house (news to me) using MORE energy isn't bad if it's green... it's the impact on the enviroment that he's worried about... so true green power may use more energy... but have little to no impact on the planet...

make sense?

Dave · 07-17-2008, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ebbs15

just busting your chops...

but as far as his house (news to me) using MORE energy isn't bad if it's green... it's the impact on the enviroment that he's worried about... so true green power may use more energy... but have little to no impact on the planet...

make sense?

uh, no.

07-17-2008, 02:27 PM	#1
Captain Morgan Let's do another U-turn Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Indiana Moto: 2009 V-Strom Posts: 3,816	Global warming on Mars Just waiting for Al Gore to come to this conclusion: If climate change (i.e. global warming) is causing ice to melt in Alaska, the same thing must be happening on Mars, and WE'RE to blame. http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/200807...alaskaarealike Little did Bucknell University geology professors Craig Kochel and Jeffrey Trop know, as they were working in Alaska, that they would soon predict one of the most important planetary observations ever made. The pair was in Alaska for an eight-day trip in July 2006, studying geological features and the processes that create them. As they studied photographs taken of the surrounding area, some features caught Kochel's eye. He thought they were strangely familiar, and then realized they reminded him of images he'd seen when working on the Viking missions to Mars in the 1970s. Kochel and Trop trekked to where the shots were taken overlooking a glacier. Spotting triangle-shaped landforms called "fans" sealed the deal: They looked strikingly similar to photographs taken of features on Mars. Mystery solved Although geologists can usually tell what shapes the landscape around us, it was a mystery what formed the Mars-like features found in Alaska. The conditions on Mars are quite different than anything experienced on Earth. For example, Mars is much colder than even the Arctic — the average martian temperature is -81 degrees F (-63 degrees C) — and the planet's atmospheric pressure is lower than Earth's. Still, for the same features to be present on Earth and Mars, the two professors suspected similar processes would have made them. They had just over a week in Alaska to discover what created the glaciers and fans. During this time they managed to see an impressive 289 events, including rock falls and floods. The vast majority of these events were snow and ice avalanches. The frequency of these avalanches astounded the scientists, who reasoned that climate change was the most likely culprit. As temperatures rise, the glaciers pull back, creating large areas where ice has been separated. Material can fall down these cracks and lead to avalanches. This was creating the features seen in Alaska, and perhaps the same thing had happened on Mars. An astounding prediction Realizing the importance of this discovery, Kochel and Trop presented their findings to a NASA lunar and planetary science meeting. Their comparisons were based on older photographs of Mars, but the HiRISE camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was sending back new pictures which further confirmed the idea of avalanches on Mars. Kochel and Trop explained that with a bit of luck and good timing, it would be possible to snap photographs of martian avalanches. Amazingly, soon afterwards the orbiter sent back images of an ice flow avalanche in action on Mars. Pieces of ice, dust and possibly rocks crashed down from high, steep areas, sending clouds of fine material billowing upwards. The cloud itself was about 590 feet (180 meters) across. The exact cause of the avalanche isn't known with certainty, but it could be because the sun warmed layers of ice. This was the first time an avalanche had been observed on another world, and was the perfect confirmation of Kochel and Trop's ideas. Valuable research Studies like this help us understand the changes that take place during periods of climate variation. They also show that although planets like the Earth and Mars are very different places, in many ways they can be astoundingly similar. The details of this paper will also be of interest to astrobiologists. Searching for water on other worlds is thought to be a key step toward finding life, and understanding how the water cycle takes place on Mars will help scientists make more accurate predictions. Couple water with a dynamic world experiencing changes to its landscape, and Mars looks all the more promising for life (My edit: The beginning of the article says average temp is -81*F. Who the fuck would want to live there??) Kochel and Trop's research paper was published in the July issue of the journal Icarus.

07-17-2008, 03:52 PM	#2
Audiomechanic Mobile Post-Whore Unit Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Houston, TX Moto: 2000 Honda Magna 750 Posts: 455	Us dirty rotten humans are polluting the earth so much that it's spilling out to mars now?!?! I GOTTA GO BUY SOME CARBON CREDITS QUICK!!!!!!!! __________________ This is my signature. Yay.

07-17-2008, 04:22 PM	#3
Dave Chaotic Neutral Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Cherry Hill NJ Moto: GV1200 Madura, Hawk gt Posts: 13,992	clearly its because the mars rovers werent hybrid electric kinda hard to ''go green'' on a red planet isint it? __________________ TWF Post whore #6

07-17-2008, 05:29 PM	#4
Audiomechanic Mobile Post-Whore Unit Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Houston, TX Moto: 2000 Honda Magna 750 Posts: 455	Oh man am I sick of the "go green" crap. "Go green" this and "eco" that. AAAAAHH!!!! It's all retarted. No I will NOT "go green." I will "go" whatever the hell color I feel like. __________________ This is my signature. Yay.

07-17-2008, 05:51 PM	#6
Audiomechanic Mobile Post-Whore Unit Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Houston, TX Moto: 2000 Honda Magna 750 Posts: 455	Does he explain how he invented the internet? Sorry, not going to waste my time with that. I don't care what the man's politcal standpoint is, I just think he's an idiot. __________________ This is my signature. Yay.

07-17-2008, 05:37 PM	#5
Mr Lefty TWFix Legend Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Denver CO Moto: 01 BMW F650GS Dakar Posts: 15,677	actually what Al Gore says in his movie isn't that we're causing global warming... global warming is a natural cycle that the earth goes through, and has gone through thousands of times... it's that we're speeding it up and making what seems to be (from a scientific stand point) the most drastic cycle change yet. if you haven't seen the movie... I'd sudgest you watch it... keep an open mind... lots of good points... not saying I 100% agree with Al Gore... just that it's OBVIOUS that a lot of what we do harms the plannet... so why not research ways of continueing to do what we do with less impact? seems like common sense to me.

07-17-2008, 06:11 PM	#7
Mr Lefty TWFix Legend Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Denver CO Moto: 01 BMW F650GS Dakar Posts: 15,677	close minded much?

07-17-2008, 06:30 PM	#8
Audiomechanic Mobile Post-Whore Unit Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Houston, TX Moto: 2000 Honda Magna 750 Posts: 455	Not really. I'm not going to take advice from someone who's house burns 10 times the energy mine does. Not to mention someone who "went green" on his house and is now burning MORE energy than before he "went green." Just like if I want financial advice, I'm not going to ask a broke person. __________________ This is my signature. Yay.

07-17-2008, 07:12 PM	#9
Mr Lefty TWFix Legend Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Denver CO Moto: 01 BMW F650GS Dakar Posts: 15,677	just busting your chops... but as far as his house (news to me) using MORE energy isn't bad if it's green... it's the impact on the enviroment that he's worried about... so true green power may use more energy... but have little to no impact on the planet... make sense?