Global Warming on Mars?
Some scientists say that the Sun could have at least as powerful an effect on global temperature as increased emissions of carbon dioxide. If that is true then Kyoto and all the other billions being spent pursuant to decreasing human contributions may have little effect.
According to a Jet Propulsion Laboratory press release, the Mars Global Surveyor is making some surprising discoveries that suggest a climate change in progress.
New gullies that did not exist in mid-2002 have appeared on a Martian sand dune.
That's just one of the surprising discoveries that have resulted from the extended life of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which this month began its ninth year in orbit around Mars. Boulders tumbling down a Martian slope left tracks that weren't there two years ago. New impact craters formed since the 1970s suggest changes to age-estimating models. And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress.
That's just one of the surprising discoveries that have resulted from the extended life of NASA's Mars Global Surveyor, which this month began its ninth year in orbit around Mars. Boulders tumbling down a Martian slope left tracks that weren't there two years ago. New impact craters formed since the 1970s suggest changes to age-estimating models. And for three Mars summers in a row, deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk from the previous year's size, suggesting a climate change in progress.
The article doesn't say why the polar deposits of frozen carbon dioxide near Mars' south pole have shrunk, but if the Sun is causing climate changes on Earth certainly the same effects are felt on Mars.
H/T Patrick at Badger Blogger.
Posted Thursday September 22, 2005 | Catagory: (Science & Technology) | Permalink
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