Data from NASA's Curiosity rover hints at ancient megaflood in Mars: Study
New York: Giant flash floods once washed through Gale Crater on Mars' equator around four billion years ago, according to a study which hints at the possibility that life may have existed on the Red Planet.
The research, published recently in the journal Scientific Reports, assessed data collected by NASA's Curiosity rover -- launched in November 2011 -- and found that "gigantic flash floods," likely touched off by the heat of a meteoritic impact, unleashed the ice stored on the Martian surface.
Based on the analysis, scientists including those from Cornell University in the US, said these floods of "unimaginable magnitude" set up gigantic ripples that are tell-tale geologic structures familiar to scientists on the Earth.
"We identified megafloods for the first time using detailed sedimentological data observed by the rover Curiosity," said study co-author Alberto G. Fairen from Cornell University.
According to the scientists, geological features including the work of water and wind have been frozen in time on Mars for about four billion years.
They said these features convey processes that shaped the surface of both the Earth and the Mars in the past.
This case includes the occurrence of giant wave-shaped features in sedimentary layers of Gale crater, often called "megaripples" or "antidunes" that are about 30-feet high and spaced about 450 feet apart, lead author Ezat Heydari, a professor of physics at Jackson State University in the US, noted.
The antidunes are indicative of flowing megafloods at the bottom of Mars' Gale Crater about four billion years ago, which are identical to the features formed by melting ice on Earth about two million years ago, Heydari added.
According to the study, the most likely cause of the Mars flooding was the melting of ice from heat generated by a large impact, which released carbon dioxide and methane from the planet's frozen reservoirs.
The water vapour and release of gases combined to produce a short period of warm and wet conditions on Mars, the researchers said. They believe the condensation may have formed water vapour clouds, which in turn likely created torrential rain, possibly planetwide.
This water may have entered Gale Crater, and combined with water coming down from Mount Sharp in Gale Crater to produce gigantic flash floods, the scientists added.
The Curiosity rover science team had already established that Gale Crater once had persistent lakes and streams in the ancient past.
The researchers believe these long-lived bodies of water are good indicators that the crater, as well as Mount Sharp within it, were capable of supporting microbial life.
"Early Mars was an extremely active planet from a geological point of view. The planet had the conditions needed to support the presence of liquid water on the surface -- and on the Earth, where there's water, there's life," Fairen said.
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Karnataka Milk Federation enters Delhi-NCR, offers competitive pricing on Nandini products
New Delhi, Nov 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday launched the Karnataka Milk Federation's (KMF) Nandini brand milk products in the Delhi-NCR market, pricing them marginally lower than competitors to gain a foothold in the region.
The cooperative will retail four cow milk variants, curd, and buttermilk from Friday, with competitive pricing that undercuts established players like Mother Dairy and Amul.
Cow milk will be sold at Rs 56 per litre, full Cream Milk at Rs 67 per litre, Standardised Milk at Rs 61 per litre, Toned Milk at Rs 55 per litre, and curd at Rs 74 per kg.
"We have surplus milk in the state. KMF along with Mandya Milk Union will market surplus milk of 3-4 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR," Siddaramaiah told reporters after launching the products.
The federation currently collects 100 lakh litres of milk daily, with local consumption at 60 lakh litres, leaving a surplus of 40 lakh litres for expansion into new markets.
However, the Chief Minister acknowledged the challenges of transporting milk over 2,500 km, which takes 50-54 hours.
There is a need to find new markets for surplus milk and gradually the KMF should be able to sell 5-6 lakh litres per day in Delhi-NCR, he added.
KMF Chairman LBP Bheemanaik assured that milk quality would be maintained during transit.
The federation has already partnered with 40 dealers in the Delhi-NCR region to facilitate sales, he added.
With a robust infrastructure of 26.76 lakh milk producers, 15,737 dairy cooperative societies, and 15 district milk unions, KMF has a turnover of Rs 25,000 crore and exports dairy products to over 25 countries.
State Animal Husbandry Minister K Venkatesh and Agriculture Minister N Cheluvarayaswamy were present at the product launch.
ದೇಶದ ಹಾಲು ಉತ್ಪಾದನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗುಜರಾತ್ ಮೊದಲ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದ್ದರೆ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕ ಎರಡನೇ ಸ್ಥಾನದಲ್ಲಿದೆ.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) November 21, 2024
ದೆಹಲಿ ನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೆ.ಎಂ.ಎಫ್ ಮತ್ತು ಮಂಡ್ಯ ಹಾಲು ಒಕ್ಕೂಟಗಳು ಸೇರಿಕೊಂಡು ವಿವಿಧ ಶ್ರೇಣಿಯ ಹಾಲನ್ನು ಮಾರುಕಟ್ಟೆಗೆ ಬಿಡುಗಡೆ ಮಾಡಿವೆ. ದೆಹಲಿಯ ನಿವಾಸಿಗಳಿಂದ ನಂದಿನಿ ಉತ್ಪನ್ನಗಳಿಗೆ ಅತ್ಯುತ್ತಮ ಸ್ಪಂದನೆ ದೊರೆಯಲಿದೆ ಎಂಬ ವಿಶ್ವಾಸ ನನಗಿದೆ.… pic.twitter.com/yUmTQknGzD
