A group of American and French scientists have identified the source of the tsunami that occurred on the Red Planet in ancient times. They turned out to be the place where a large asteroid fell about three billion years ago, which provoked the appearance of several large waves.
The fall of the asteroid triggered the formation of the Lomonosov crater. It is located in the northern hemisphere of Mars and reaches a diameter of 150 kilometers. Tsunami waves in height reached three hundred meters, they spread from the source to a distance of several hundred kilometers at a speed of 60 meters per second. Initially, the crater diameter reached 70 kilometers.
Ancient tsunami traces on Mars. Photo: JGR - PLANETS
The water that spread from the crater flooded the area surrounding it and contributed to the formation of a relief characteristic of such processes. Scientists suggest that after this, some of the water returned back to the crater, which led to the formation of a second, weaker wave.
Researchers have come to similar conclusions based on computer simulations of the collision of an ancient red planet and an asteroid. Thanks to this study, scientists were able to more or less accurately describe the landforms on Mars that are currently observed. In addition, this study confirms that a water ocean existed in the northern hemisphere of Mars in ancient times. It should be noted that previous experiments of planetary scientists also assumed that tsunamis existed on the red planet in ancient times caused by asteroid falls on the planet, but these experiments did not track the source of these cataclysms.