Did Martians play on sand dunes?

(The floor is moving from underneath)

Figures 1 Charitum Montes obtained from www.space.com /White colored surface signifies carbon dioxide emission.

As of Dec.6.2012, The European Space Agency (ESA) has reported groundbreaking pictures of a mountain range on the “Red Planet” dusted with carbon dioxide frost. Out of curiosity the geology group of CHEMISTRY 1045 class at Miami Dade College, Inter-American campus found out through standard research that not only is iron(III)oxide the reason for the planets’ red surface, but that there is evidence that there are plate tectonics shifting inside the small planet, according to UCLA Scientist An Yin, Ph.D. Because of the recent news by the European Space Agency, we understood through simple introductory geological principles that mountains are created on Earth by subducting plate tectonics. Therefore, it is assumed that similar activity may be taking place on the surface of Mars. We got this information from Spaceref.com. They are a privately owned media company that publishes scientific information. They posted an article describing what the UCLA professor discovered. The professor quotes, “When I studied the satellite images from Mars, many of the features looked very much like fault systems I have seen in the Himalayas and Tibet, and in California as well, including the geomorphology,” said Yin, a planetary geologist.(Spaceref.com)

This means that there is evidence that the mountain range which the ESA photographed is induced by magma from the core of Mars. How cool is that? The ESA also photographed sand dunes, which were near the mountain ridge. The carbon dioxide which was in great quantities may suggest that there may be microbial existence, which was the reason Curiosity was carried out in the first place. Though methane, CH4, wasn’t found in large, empirical quantities, CO2 has been found in abundance in this ridge. Moreover, the location of this mountain range takes place over an area of 1000 kilometers. The range is called Charitum Montes. There will be more information on this very matter or possibly more discoveries/findings next week.

References Cowing, Keith. "UCLA Scientist Discovers Plate Tectonics on Mars." Web log post. SpaceRef. N.p., 09 Aug. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. "Mars Mountains Look Frosty in New Images." Web log post. Www.space.com. N.p., 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012. Figure 1. Charitum Montes "Mars Mountains Look Frosty in New Images." Web log post. Www.space.com. N.p., 06 Dec. 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012

Authors: Glenn Havee, Valerya Charry, and Jorge Alcina.