Spring, When the Geysers Erupt on Mars

Our earth acts like a living thing, with the seasons, the weather and water cycle, and geothermic activity always moving about. You might get the idea that Mars is a dead planet, but it also has its movements that vary by season, and that includes geysers. These geysers aren't spewing water, though- they are explosions of carbon dioxide, which makes up 95% of the thin Martian atmosphere.

In the Martian winter, the CO₂ freezes to a solid around the poles. When the warmth of the sun returns in spring, the CO₂ closest to the planet's surface sublimates and expands into gas, while the topmost layer is still frozen. The pressure breaks through in weaker spots, creating geysers spewing carbon dioxide at speeds up to 160 km/h! The geysers also contain dark grains of sand from the surface, so they leave distinctive patterns behind that resemble spiders. The pressure can also form tunnels under the frozen CO₂. The surface features are called araneiform terrain or spider terrain. The illustration above is an artist's impression of Martian geysers in action: see real pictures of the terrain left behind along with an explanation of how they happen at Universe Today. -via Real Clear Science

(Image credit:  NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University/Ron Miller)


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