McLaughlin (Martian crater)
McLaughlin Crater is an old crater in the Oxia Palus quadrangle of Mars, located at 21°54′N 337°38′E / 21.9°N 337.63°E. It is 90.92 km (56.50 mi)[1] in diameter and 2.2 km (1.4 mi)[2] deep. The crater was named after Dean B. McLaughlin, an American astronomer (1901-1965).[3][4] The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has found evidence that the water came from beneath the surface between 3.7 billion and 4 billion years ago and remained long enough to make carbonate-related clay minerals found in layers.[2][5] McLaughlin Crater, one of the deepest craters on Mars, contains Mg-Fe clays and carbonates that probably formed in a groundwater-fed alkaline lake. This type of lake could have had a massive biosphere of microscopic organisms.[6]
(released 14 January 2016).
See also
References
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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- ^ http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/
- ^ http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-028
- ^ Michalski,J., J. Cuadros, P. Niles, J. Parnell, A. Rogers, S. Wright. 2013. Groundwater activity on Mars and implications for a deep biosphere. Nature geoscience:6, 133–138.
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