Shock! Glaciers on Mars are made from principally pure ice

• Glaciers are widespread on Mars, similar to on Earth. Scientists had thought they had been principally rocky materials, lined in ice.
• But Martian glaciers are at the very least 80% pure ice, in keeping with a brand new research.
• The glaciers are bodily related throughout the planet, suggesting widespread formation processes.

Glaciers on Mars

Like Earth, Mars has slow-moving our bodies of ice referred to as glaciers. Scientists have thought they had been composed principally of rock, with a protecting of ice. But now, researchers in Israel, Canada and the U.S. have performed a brand new research of this Martian flowing ice. They said on July 24, 2025, that surprisingly the glaciers are over 80% pure ice. The researchers added that this implies glaciers throughout Mars are prone to have related ranges of purity.

The findings present additional clues in regards to the historical past of Mars’ local weather. The glaciers is also a possible supply of water for future astronauts.

The analysis workforce, led by Yuval Steinberg, a current graduate of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, published their peer-reviewed ends in the journal Icarus on July 12, 2025.

Ultimately, this gives a clearer understanding of Mars’ local weather historical past and a potential useful resource for future utilization. ? ? Read extra: buff.ly/AqH04CC

— Planetary Science Institute (@psi.edu) 2025-07-24T21:00:46.314Z

Incomplete knowledge

For the brand new research, the researchers seemed to previous analysis for help. But there was an issue. When it got here to research of debris-covered glaciers on Mars at completely different places, the info had been incomplete. Co-author Isaac Smith on the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona, and York University in Toronto, Canada, said:

Different strategies had been utilized by researchers to numerous websites, and the outcomes couldn’t be simply in contrast. One of the websites in our research had by no means been studied, and at two of the 5 websites we used, solely partial evaluation had been accomplished beforehand.

To rectify this, the workforce took a unique method. They made the evaluation procedures extra standardized. They used two particular kinds of evaluation to do that. First, they measured the dielectric property of the glaciers (measuring how shortly radar waves transfer by a cloth). Then, they analyzed the loss tangent, or dielectric loss (a measure of how shortly power dissipates from radar waves into a cloth).

By doing this, the researchers may decide the ratio of rock to ice throughout the glaciers.

5 places throughout Mars

The researchers had 4 places with glaciers to review with the improved strategies. They then recognized a fifth one. This one can be excellent for NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to review with its SHAllow RADar (SHARAD) instrument.

SHARAD can peer beneath the floor to see glaciers or different ice deposits lined by rock and sand.

Glaciers on Mars are very related

One of the important thing findings of the brand new research is that glaciers throughout Mars are almost the identical by way of their bodily properties. This implies a constant strategy of formation all over the place on the planet. As Smith famous:

This is necessary as a result of it tells us that the formation and preservation mechanisms are in all probability the identical all over the place. From that, we are able to conclude that Mars skilled both one widespread glaciation or a number of glaciations that had related properties. And, by bringing collectively these websites and strategies for the primary time, we had been in a position to unify our understanding of most of these glaciers.

Knowing how the glaciers shaped will assist scientists higher perceive the historical past of Mars’ local weather going again billions of years. In addition, these intensive ice deposits is also an necessary water useful resource for future astronauts.

Bottom line: Glaciers on Mars are at the very least 80% pure ice, in keeping with a brand new research. Scientists had beforehand thought they contained much more rocky materials.

Source: Physical properties of subsurface water ice deposits in Mars’s Mid-Latitudes from the shallow radar

Via Planetary Science Institute

Read extra: Mars has belts of glaciers

Read extra: Salt glaciers on Mercury may harbor liveable niches