Martian 'fingers' could be salty water

Published on Thursday 4 August 2011 18:10

FINGER-like features visible in images from Mars may be streams of salty water spilling over the rims of craters, scientists believe.

The puzzling clusters of dark lines fade in winter and reappear in the spring. Pictures taken by Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft showed the markings on several steep slopes south of the Martian equator. The features could be the first definitive evidence of present-day liquid water on the Red Planet, say experts.If this turns out to be the case, the sites may provide a hunting ground for signs of life. Researchers describe the find in a study published in the journal Science.

"The best explanation we have for these observations so far is flow of briny water, although this study does not prove that," said co-author Dr Alfred McEwen, from the University of Arizona.