Ancient Mega-Flood on Mars Revealed in 3D

[struggle4progress]

by Charles Q. Choi, SPACE.com Contributor
Date: 07 March 2013 Time: 02:01 PM ET

... Marte Vallis lies in Elysium Planitia, an expanse of plains along the Martian equator. This area is the youngest volcanic region on Mars, and massive volcanism throughout the past several hundred million years has covered most of its surface with lava, burying evidence of its recent history, including the source and most of the length of Marte Vallis.

Now, using the shallow radar onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, scientists have scanned beneath the surface of Elysium Planitia. Their data helped generate a 3D reconstruction of Marte Vallis, revealing many details that lava flows buried long ago.

"This is the first time we've been able to see buried flood channels on a planet other than the Earth," lead study author Gareth Morgan, a geologist at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, told SPACE.com.

The researchers found the channels of Marte Vallis were at least 230 feet (70 meters) deep, making them at least twice as deep as thought ...

http://www.space.com/20111-mars-megaflood-underground-radar.html