Impact crater linked to ancient Martian tsunamis identified

Houston

Scientists have identified a crater on Mars, possibly created by an asteroid that triggered 150 metre-high tsunami waves when it plunged into an ocean on the red planet three billion years ago.

The researchers have identified what they think is the best candidate for the impact crater, a 120km-wide bowl called Lomonosov. The feature is extremely degraded today, with a collapsed crater rim.

Some scientists think an ocean might once have filled the vast lowland region that occupies the red planet's northerly latitudes.

Growing evidence that tsunami waves washed over the boundary between the southern highlands and northern lowlands help strengthen the hypothesis.

The proposed Martian tsunami travelled 150km inland, climbing to elevations of about 100 metres.

"If we do have this evidence of a tsunami having occurred back three billion years ago, there must have been an ocean present in the northern plains," Steve Clifford, from the Lunar and Planetary Institute in the US told 'BBC News'.

"That's the key point here, it indicates that there was a substantial amount of water in residence on the Martian surface at this time and that has likely implications for the total inventory of water on Mars," Clifford said.

The research has been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research — Planets. PTI