NASA NASA - water on Mars, sediment pictures

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the findings of NASA's Curiosity rover, which suggests that water played a significant role in shaping the Martian landscape. It explores the fate of eroded materials, hypothesizing that they may have been transported by wind and deposited in layered formations. Evidence indicates that sedimentation processes occurred in ancient lakebeds, potentially linked to a primordial ocean on Mars. The conversation also touches on the role of volcanic activity in contributing to Mars' atmosphere, which is crucial for understanding the planet's capacity to support liquid water. Ongoing research and future findings from Curiosity are anticipated to provide more clarity on these topics.
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So, where'd the eroded material go?
 
And deposited in a homogeneous mass? Or in layers?
 
Likely deposited in layers. Titled OP link: Sedimentary Signs of a Martian Lakebed | NASA
This is an example of a thick-laminated, evenly-stratified rock type that forms stratigraphically beneath cross-bedded sandstones regarded as ancient river deposits. These rocks are interpreted to record sedimentation in a lake, as part of or in front of a delta, where plumes of river sediment settled out of the water column and onto the lake floor.
 
While there is significant evidence suggesting Mars had a primordial ocean, it remains inconclusive. It does not require a particularly vivid imagination to picture the process that supplied primordial water to Earth would have done the same to mars. The bigger question is likely whether Mars ever had sufficient atmosphere to permit liquid water to accumulate on its surface. Certainly vulcanism is a candidate source for atmospheric gasses on mars. It is fairly obvious Mars underwent an early episode of intense volcanic activity not unlike Earth - which is widely regarded as a major contributor to Earth's primordial atmosphere. The topic is frequently debated in scientific literature For one of the more recent papers see; http://arxiv.org/abs/1411.5144, Estimating precipitation on early Mars using a radiative-convective model of the atmosphere and comparison with inferred runoff from geomorphology. Hopefully, Curiosity will yield further insight.
 
Aeolian deposits from 4.5 Ga of dust storms are distinguished from lacustrine deposits how?
 

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