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Mars may be 140 million kilometers from Earth, but scientists have discovered a connection between the two distant worlds.
Researchers from the University of Sydney discovered a cycle of giant eddies from 2.4 million years ago in the deep sea of our planet, which have existed for more than 40 million years.
The intense underwater circulation was related to gravitational interactions between Mars and Earth, with the Red Planet bringing ours closer to the Sun every few million years.
The synergy between the two worlds is also enough to impact Earth’s climate: increased solar energy and a warmer climate were found to arise during the cycles.
The intense underwater circulation was related to gravitational interactions between Mars and Earth, and the Red Planet brought ours closer to the Sun every few million years, causing “giant whirlpools” in the depths of our oceans.
The team drilled 370 holes in the deep oceans around the world to analyze seafloor sediments.
The samples showed cycles of weakening and strengthening, pointing to a vigorous circulation beneath the depths.
Lead author Dr Adriana Dutkiewicz said she and her team were surprised to discover signs of cycling in the sediments, the first evidence found in geological data.
“There is only one way to explain them: they are linked to cycles in the interactions between Mars and Earth orbiting the Sun,” he continued.
The interaction between the two planets is called “resonance,” which occurs when a pair of orbiting objects are attracted to each other by gravitational pull.
Previous studies assumed that Jupiter and Saturn were born due to motion: the former circled the Sun three times during the cycle of the ringed planets.
The team drilled 370 holes in the deep oceans around the world to analyze seafloor sediments. The samples showed cycles of weakening and strengthening, pointing to a vigorous circulation occurring beneath the depths.
The Moon’s gravitational pull causes ocean tides, but the new study is the first to find another planet impacting Earth.
For our planet it means periods of greater incoming solar radiation and warmer climate in cycles of 2.4 million years.
The researchers found that warmer cycles correlate with greater occurrences of breaks in the deep-sea record, related to more vigorous deep ocean circulation.
And scientists determined that eddies, or eddies, were a major component of past warming of the seas.
It is possible that this could partly mitigate the ocean stagnation that some have predicted could follow a faltering AMOC (Atlantic Southern Circulation) that drives the Gulf Stream and maintains temperate climates in Europe.
Co-author Professor Dietmar Mülle said: “We know that there are at least two separate mechanisms that contribute to the vigor of deep-water mixing in the oceans. AMOC is one of them, but deep ocean eddies appear to play an important role. in warm climates to keep the ocean ventilated.
“Of course, this would not have the same effect as AMOC in terms of transporting water masses from low to high latitudes and vice versa.”
These eddies are like giant whirlpools and often reach the abyssal seafloor, causing erosion of the seafloor and large accumulations of sediment called contours, similar to snowdrifts.
“Our deep-sea data spanning 65 million years suggests that warmer oceans have more vigorous deep circulation,” Dutkiewicz said.
“This will potentially prevent the ocean from stagnating even if the Atlantic meridional circulation slows or stops completely.”