Ice Cliffs Discovered on Mars

Erosion on Mars has uncovered large, steep cross-sections of clean, subterranean ice. In this false-color image captured by NASA's HiRISE camera, one of eight recently discovered stripes appears dark blue against the Martian terrain.NASA/JPL/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA/USGS
Erosion on Mars has uncovered large, steep cross-sections of clean, subterranean ice. In this false-color image captured by NASA's HiRISE camera, one of eight recently discovered stripes appears dark blue against the Martian terrain.NASA/JPL/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA/USGS
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Ice Cliffs Discovered on Mars

Erosion on Mars has uncovered large, steep cross-sections of clean, subterranean ice. In this false-color image captured by NASA's HiRISE camera, one of eight recently discovered stripes appears dark blue against the Martian terrain.NASA/JPL/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA/USGS
Erosion on Mars has uncovered large, steep cross-sections of clean, subterranean ice. In this false-color image captured by NASA's HiRISE camera, one of eight recently discovered stripes appears dark blue against the Martian terrain.NASA/JPL/UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA/USGS

Locked beneath the surface of Mars are vast quantities of water ice, a new research has found.

In this week's issue of Science, researchers led by USGS planetary geologist Colin Dundas present detailed observations of eight Martian regions where erosion has uncovered large, steep cross-sections of underlying ice.

“What’s new and exciting here is that these ice sheets start quite shallowly,” says planetary scientist Colin Dundas of the US Geological Survey in Flagstaff, Ariz. That could be good news for future astronauts hoping to use that water to drink, or to create oxygen to breathe or make fuel for returning spacecraft.

It’s not just the volume of water they found, it’s how mineable it promises to be. The deposits begin at depths as shallow as one meter and extend upwards of 100 meters into the planet. The researchers don't estimate the quantity of ice present, but they do note that the amount of ice near the surface is likely more extensive than the few locations where it's exposed. And what's more, the ice looks pretty damn pure.

NASA calls the use of space-based resources “in-situ resource utilization,” and the agency thinks it will be essential to survival in deep space. Of particular interest to ISRU planners is the depth of the ice, and the ratio of pure ice to that mixed in with bits of Mars regolith. The more pristine the ice, and the closer it is to the surface, the less energy it takes to extract and use.

The ice found this time isn’t crystal clear. Over years, observations showed that the ice is slowly surrendering water to the atmosphere through a process called sublimation, and signs suggest that boulders and sediment are dislodging from the ice as it recedes. But some debris is to be expected. Dundas and his colleagues hypothesize that the ice originated as snow, falling in waves over millions of years. Some rocky material probably found its way in, in between snow events—but the surrounding ice, the researchers think, is relatively clean.

"On Mars, when you see something bright, it usually means ice,” says Richard Zurek, chief scientist for the Mars Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, who was unaffiliated with the study. Most of the material on Mars reflects little light, "but the albedo readings on these exposed sections show that this is very bright stuff," he says. "And the spectrometer readings support that this is water ice and not ice-cemented soil, which would be much harder to convert into water as a resource."

The cliffs are all found at latitudes about 55° north or south, however, which grow frigid and dark in the Martian winter—unpromising latitudes for a solar-powered human base. For this reason, the NASA study was limited to sites to within 50° of the equator. Now, Hubbard wants NASA’s human exploration program to look for similar cliffs closer to the equator. “What’s the cutoff point?” he asks. He hopes the next surprise will be ice closer to the Martian tropics.



'Lungs of the Earth': the Indonesians Fighting for Peatland

Indonesia has more tropical peatland than any country, but it is also quickly losing this poorly understood ecosystem. STR / AFP
Indonesia has more tropical peatland than any country, but it is also quickly losing this poorly understood ecosystem. STR / AFP
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'Lungs of the Earth': the Indonesians Fighting for Peatland

Indonesia has more tropical peatland than any country, but it is also quickly losing this poorly understood ecosystem. STR / AFP
Indonesia has more tropical peatland than any country, but it is also quickly losing this poorly understood ecosystem. STR / AFP

Indonesian environmentalist Pralensa steered his boat through a shallow canal in the marshy peatlands near his village, an environment he fears may soon disappear.

His oar stirred up rich organic material in the brackish water, evidence of the layers of plant matter that make peatlands vital carbon dioxide stores and key to biodiversity, AFP said.

Indonesia has more tropical peatland than any other country, but it is also quickly losing this poorly understood ecosystem.

That affects local residents and wildlife but also has global impacts, because converted peatland can release vast quantities of planet-warming carbon dioxide.

Pralensa worries a similar fate awaits much of the swampy peatland around his village of Lebung Itam in South Sumatra.

Locals say palm oil firm Bintang Harapan Palma has already begun digging canals to drain the peatlands for planting.

"We protested... we told them this is a community-managed area," said Pralensa, who, like many Indonesians, uses a single name.

"According to them, they already have rights to this land."

Bintang Harapan Palma did not respond to AFP's request for comment.

Peatlands are an in-between place -- seemingly neither water nor land -- an environment that slows plant decomposition and forms carbon-rich peat.

Covering just three percent of the world's surface, they hold an estimated 44 percent of all soil carbon.

Indonesia's peatlands are home to endangered orangutans, as well as economically important fish species. They also help prevent flooding and drought, lower local temperatures and minimize saltwater intrusion.

For Pralensa, peatlands are no less than a "spiritual bond".

"From the moment that we exist, that we're born, we are aware of this peatland. We encounter it every moment of every day," the 44-year-old said.

Catastrophic fires

Indonesia's peatland has long been converted for agriculture, drained of the water that is its lifeblood, with severe consequences.

Dry peat is highly flammable, and fire can smoulder underground and reignite seemingly at will.

The blazes sparked calls for action, including a moratorium on new peatland concessions.

Government regulations adopted the following year banned several damaging activities, including burning and drying out peatland.

The environment ministry did not respond to questions submitted by AFP.

"Weak oversight and law enforcement in Indonesia allow the exploitation of peatlands to continue," said Wahyu Perdana at peatland preservation NGO Pantau Gambut.

And fires still happen "almost every year," said Rohman, a farmer in Bangsal village, around two hours west of Lebung Itam.

Like Lebung Itam, it is ringed by plantations on converted peatland.

Bangsal residents could once rely on vast wetlands to feed their distinctive buffalo, which dive beneath the water to graze.

Fish traps supplied additional income, along with small rice paddies.

'We must protect nature'

Plantation infrastructure prevents water from subsiding properly when the rains end, complicating rice planting.

And then there is the seasonal haze.

"It's difficult to do anything" when it descends, said Rohman, with visibility sometimes dropping to just a few meters.

Everything from "economic activity to children playing and learning is very disrupted".

Rohman, 53, was one of several plaintiffs from Bangsal and Lebung Itam who filed a landmark lawsuit over the fires.

They argued three companies with nearby timber plantations on peatland bore legal responsibility for the health, economic and social impacts of local fires.

Filing the suit was not an easy decision, said Bangsal schoolteacher Marda Ellius, who alleges a company named in the case offered her money and help for her family if she withdrew.

"I kept thinking that, from the beginning, my goal here was for the environment, for many people," she said.

"I chose to continue."

AFP could not reach the companies named in the suit. Major firm Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), which buys from the three companies, did not respond.

This month, a local court rejected the suit, saying the plaintiffs lacked standing.

"The pain cannot be described," plaintiff Muhammad Awal Gunadi said of the ruling.

"It was tough because we were facing corporations.

The group has pledged to appeal, and Bangsal's villagers are lobbying local government for a new designation to protect their remaining peatland.

Healthy peat is "like the lungs of the Earth," said Bangsal resident and buffalo farmer Muhammad Husin.

"Hopefully, if we protect nature, nature will also protect us."