What is particularly interesting is that there is evidence of multiple deltas up to 140 km from the mouth of the ancient river. This not only suggests that there was a sea on the surface of ancient Mars, but shows a dramatic sea level fall of more than 500 metres. A possible explanation for this is a change in ancient climate leading to the sea starting to dry up approximately 3.6 billion years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe research has significantly contributed to our understanding of the climate on early Mars, which we now know went from having a water cycle similar to that of Earth to being a cold, desert-like landscape in a relatively short period.<\/p>\n \u201cWe would like to gain a better understanding of how many of these fluvial deltas exist on Mars so that we can determine the position and size of its ancient seas.\u201d<\/p>\n *The research was completed by academics from The Open University in collaboration with: Imperial College London; the Natural History Museum; the Integrated Science Center, State University of New York; Arizona State University; the European Space Research and Technology Centre, Netherlands<\/em><\/p>\n Planetary and space sciences<\/a> at The Open University<\/p>\n Study science<\/a> with The Open University<\/p>\n![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/www.open.ac.uk\/blogs\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Dr-Peter-Fawdon-OU-News-size-300x200.jpg\")
Lead author from The Open University, Dr Peter Fawdon<\/a>, said:<\/p>\nFind out more<\/h2>\n