Minerology on Mars points to a cold and icy ancient climate
Purdue University
But climate models of the planet’s deep past haven’t been able to produce warm enough conditions to allow liquid water on the surface. While a lot of people are using climate models, we’re coming at this from a unique perspective - what does the volcanic record of Mars tell us? Ackiss’ team hopes their findings can be used as a reference point for other regions on Mars with a volcanic history. Even if Mars was a cold and icy wasteland, these volcanic eruptions interacting with ice sheets could have created a little happy place for microbes to exist, Horgan said. This is the kind of place you’d want to go to understand how life would’ve survived on Mars during that time.