Gujarat: 'Structures in India resemble those on Mars', says study

RAJKOT: An ISRO-funded study conducted by the Kutch university has revealed for the first time that several structures in India and those on Mars were formed due to the same geographical activities that occured on the Red Planet billions of years ago.
The study found that structures like Dhinodhar Hill in Kutch, Alaldari drainage in upper Tapi River basin, Nubra and Shyok Rivers in Ladakh and some reaches of Sutlej in central Himalayas bear striking resemblance to many of those on Mars.
The study done by the university's earth and environment science department has been published in the reputed scientific journal published by Elsevier.
The structures on both planets were created due to fluvial process, which means landforms caused by flowing rivers or streams, as well as volcanic activity.
On Mars, a region named Noctis fossae bears a resemblance to the geographical structures found in the Indian sub-continent as both were formed due to the interplay of tectonism and climate. Tectonism is the process of deformation in the earth's crust, continents and oceans, plateaus and mountains, say experts.
The scientists carried out analogue studies to better understand the process like volcanism, valley formation, impact cratering, catastrophic flooding, lake formation and the secondary mineral deposits on Mars. This revealed a similar fluvial process that took place on both the planets. They concluded that the history of water on Mars and constraining the climatic condition are responsible for the fluvial environment on Mars.
The study states that Mars witnessed volcanic activity from its early evolutionary phase; the largest volcano within our solar system is reported from this planet.
Subhash Bhandari, head of the department and one of the authors of this study, said "The structures created by the same geographical activity on Mars and Earth have been studied in various countries. But this is the first study that reveals the structures in the Indian subcontinent bearing resemblance with those on Mars."
"The resources on the earth are depleting, so we will have to look for extra territorial planets where habitability is possible," he said.
Across the world, other geographical structures that are similar to those on Mars include Hawaii, Snake River in the US and its tributary Columbia River, valley networks of Colorado, Devon Island in Canada, some in southwest Egypt and glacial features of Alaska.