Martians could have been wiped out by global warming

Global warming that scorched the surface of Mars for up to 10 million years may have wiped out life on the Red Planet, it is claimed.

It is thought Mars froze over roughly 3.8 billion years ago before warming periods melted the surface and created deep valleys and canyons.

Scientists believe this could by why the planet has water-carved features.

Water provides the conditions needed for life – so there could have been living organisms on Mars billions of years ago.

However, if there was life on Mars it would have been wiped out by climate change.

A build-up of greenhouse gasses in Mars’ dense atmosphere is thought to have sparked dramatic climate cycles.

Some studies have suggested the warming of Mars was brought on by asteroid impacts, but many researchers believe warming cycles are responsible.

Natasha Batalha, a graduate student of astronomy and astrophysics at Penn State, said: “With the cycling hypothesis, you get these long periods of warmth that give you sufficient time to form all the different Martian valley networks.”

The valleys on Mars are similar in width to the Grand Canyon – which is thought to have been carved out 16 million years ago when the Colorado River swelled after melting.

The Grand CanyonGetty Images

This type of climate model demonstrates how warming periods caused by greenhouse gasses persisted for millions of years, researchers claim.

Jim Kasting, a professor of geosciences at Penn State, said: “We think Mars had to be warm for millions to tens of millions of years, and the impact hypothesis can keep it warm for thousands of years.”

“In terms of water, we need millions of meters of rainfall, and they (previous studies) can get hundreds of meters.”

Batalha added: “Mars is in this precarious position where it’s at the outer edge of the habitable zone.”

“It’s receiving less solar flux, so you start at a glaciated state.”

“There is volcanic out-gassing, but because you are colder, you don’t get the same deposition of carbon back into the planet’s surface.”

“Instead, you get this atmospheric build-up and your planet slowly starts to rise in temperature.”

Researcher are still trying to work out if Mars could have produced enough carbon dioxide and hydrogen for this process to work.

Kasting said: “We would be well off if early Mars had plate tectonics just like Earth has today.”

“Then it works.”

“But that’s a big debate.”

“A lot of people don’t think Mars ever had it.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun.

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