Present day Mars habitability analogue environments on Earth: Difference between revisions
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{{Location map | Antarctica | width=220 | relief = DNIS | label = McMurdo Dry Valleys | lat_deg = -77.466667 | lon_deg = 162.516667 }} |
{{Location map | Antarctica | width=220 | relief = DNIS | label = McMurdo Dry Valleys | lat_deg = -77.466667 | lon_deg = 162.516667 }} |
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[[File:Trek-browse.jpg|thumb|Researchers scout out field sites in Antarctica's Beacon Valley, one of the most Mars-like places on Earth. Image credit: NASA]] |
[[File:Trek-browse.jpg|thumb|Researchers scout out field sites in Antarctica's Beacon Valley, one of the most Mars-like places on Earth. Image credit: NASA]] |
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These valleys lie on the edge of the Antarctic plateau. They are kept clear of ice and snow by fast [[katabatic wind]]s that blow from the plateau down through the valleys. As a result, they are amongst the coldest and driest areas in the world. |
These valleys lie on the edge of the Antarctic plateau. They are kept clear of ice and snow by fast [[katabatic wind]]s that blow from the plateau down through the valleys. As a result, they are amongst the coldest and driest areas in the world. |
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For photographs of ice fumaroles see "Ice Towers and Caves of Mount Erebus".<ref name=icefumarolephotos>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100423110657/http://erebus.nmt.edu/imagepages/icetowers/index.html "Ice Towers and Caves of Mount Erebus"], photographs from the Mount Erebus Observatory</ref> Similar habitats may possibly exist on Mars and the ice would make them hard to detect from orbit. |
For photographs of ice fumaroles see "Ice Towers and Caves of Mount Erebus".<ref name=icefumarolephotos>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100423110657/http://erebus.nmt.edu/imagepages/icetowers/index.html "Ice Towers and Caves of Mount Erebus"], photographs from the Mount Erebus Observatory</ref> Similar habitats may possibly exist on Mars and the ice would make them hard to detect from orbit. |
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[[File:SaunaIceTower.jpg|thumb|Fumarole ice chimney on Mt. Erebus]] |
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The caves on Erebus are of especial interest for astrobiology as most surface caves are influenced by human activities, or by organics from the surface brought in by animals (e.g. bats) or ground water. The caves at Erebus. are high altitude, yet accessible for study. There is almost no chance of photosynthetic based organics, or of animals in a food chain based on photosynthetic life, and no overlying soil to wash down into them. |
The caves on Erebus are of especial interest for astrobiology as most surface caves are influenced by human activities, or by organics from the surface brought in by animals (e.g. bats) or ground water. The caves at Erebus. are high altitude, yet accessible for study. There is almost no chance of photosynthetic based organics, or of animals in a food chain based on photosynthetic life, and no overlying soil to wash down into them. |
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