Evidence for an ancient martian ocean in the topography of deformed shorelines

J. Taylor Perron (), Jerry X. Mitrovica, Michael Manga, Isamu Matsuyama and Mark A. Richards
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J. Taylor Perron: University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Jerry X. Mitrovica: University of Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A7, Canada
Michael Manga: University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
Isamu Matsuyama: Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington DC 20015, USA
Mark A. Richards: University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA

Nature, 2007, vol. 447, issue 7146, 840-843

Abstract: A stranger shore The question of whether there were oceans on Mars is a compelling topic. All seemed clear when a set of surface features that ring the martian plains for thousands of kilometres were interpreted as relics of former shorelines. But topographic profiles along the putative shorelines revealed long-wavelength trends in elevation, with amplitudes of up to several kilometres. This argued against the shoreline hypothesis. Now, though, the ocean is back with a bang. Perron et al. show that polar wander — a change in the orientation of the planet's surface with respect to its pole of rotation — can explain the shoreline deformation. Moreover, the track of polar wander that would have caused the observed deformation seems consistent with the planet's rotational dynamics.

Date: 2007
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DOI: 10.1038/nature05873

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