Daily Times

WASHINGTON: An analysis of radar images that peered inside the polar ice caps of Mars shows that Earth’s neighbour is coming out of an ice age that is part of an on-going cycle of climate change, scientists say.

According to the research published in the journal of science, the Martian ice began its retreat about 370,000 years ago, marking the end of the last ice age.

Using images taken by satellites orbiting Mars, the researchers determined that since the end of ice age about 20,872 cubic miles of ice has accumulated at its poles, mostly in the northern polar cap.

Scientists are keenly interested in piecing together the climate history of Mars, which contains strong evidence that oceans and lakes once pooled on its surface, bolstering the prospects for life.

Planetary scientist of the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado Isaac Smith who led the study said that scientists can now use the new ice measurements in computer simulations to more accurately model the Martian climate.

“Previously those models were unconstrained by observations so they started with guesses. Now they have more to run on,” Smith said.

The study was the first to tie a specific layer of Martian ice with a specific period of time. “Eventually we’d like to be able to do this for every layer,” he said.

From the perspective of an Earthling, every day on Mars may feel like an ice age. According to NASA, temperatures on Mars may hit a high at noon at the equator in the summer of roughly 20 degree Celsius or a low of about -153 degrees Celsius at the poles.

Unlike Earth, ice ages on Mars occur when its poles are warmer than average and frozen water is more stable at lower latitudes. Research has shown that the transitions occurring between lengthy climate phases can leave tell-tale features in the ice.

For instance, Smith and colleagues found dramatic slopes in layers of ice within the Martian northern ice cap. Other layers reveal ice flowing in reverse direction. The climate cycles are triggered by changes in Mars’ orbit and tilt, which affect how much sunlight reaches the planet’s surface.

The shifts are particularly dramatic on Mars because the planet’s tilt compared to variations in Earth’s tilt of about 2 degrees.changes by as much as 60 degrees.