Geysers

Martian Pole Dotted With Carbon Dioxide Geysers

Posted by Billbar from Seed Magazine

The dark spots that appear on the South Pole of Mars have been a source of mystery for years. But now, scientists at the US Geological Survey and Arizona State University have announced that these patches result from geysers of soil and gaseous carbon dioxide, in a process unlike any that takes place on Earth. "You've got this high pressure gas that's moving underneath the ice," said Timothy Titus, an astrogeologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. "As it's moving, if there's any loose dust or sand, it brings it along with it." The sand and dust fall around the vent in a circular pattern, but, over the course of days or weeks, wind carries lighter particles farther from the vent, producing the observed fan-like pattern on the surface of the ice.

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