{"id":465010,"date":"2026-05-02T13:33:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-02T13:33:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/465010\/"},"modified":"2026-05-02T13:33:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-02T13:33:38","slug":"drones-reveal-massive-buried-glaciers-in-the-us-they-could-guide-search-for-water-on-mars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/465010\/","title":{"rendered":"Drones reveal massive \u2018buried glaciers\u2019 in the US. They could guide search for water on Mars"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a study recently published in the\u00a0Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets<\/a>, researchers from the University of Arizona used drones equipped with ground-penetrating radar to learn more about two debris-covered glaciers in the US. <\/strong><\/p>\n

These so-called \u2018buried glaciers\u2019 bear striking resemblance to buried ice deposits observed on Mars<\/a> and could therefore guide the search for water on the Red Planet.<\/p>\n

The classic image of a glacier is a large, dusty-white river of ice flowing down the side of a mountain, exposed to the elements. Not all glaciers look like this; debris-covered glaciers are \u2013 as their name suggests \u2013 covered by thick layers of rock and sediment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These kinds of glaciers only make up 5% of glaciers globally, but they\u2019re found in mountainous regions across the world, including in warmer areas such as Colorado and California, where debris insulates the ice underneath and stops it from melting.<\/p>\n

On Mars, similar-looking, debris-covered glaciers are found in mid-latitude regions. According to Roberto Aguilar, the lead author of the latest study, these glaciers are found in craters, large valleys and mountainous regions where ice has accumulated and later been buried by debris.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Like it does on Earth, debris shields the underlying ice, preventing it from melting and evaporating into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of these deposits are large enough that radars on orbiting spacecraft can detect and estimate the amount of ice, but current technology cannot determine fine details, such as how thick the overlying debris layer is, or if there are internal, rocky layers hidden from view,\u201d Aguilar said.<\/p>\n

\"GalenaA research drone equipped with ground-penetrating radar takes off for a reconnaissance flight on Galena Creek Rock Glacier, Wyoming. Credit: Michael Daniel<\/p>\n

In order to solve this problem, Aguilar and his colleagues experimented with a drone-based radar system specifically designed to detect the boundary between debris and underlying ice, as well as shallow layers within the bodies of buried glaciers themselves.<\/p>\n

This involved flying a drone equipped with ground-penetrating radar over two Earth-based analogs for Martian glaciers: Sourdough Rock Glacier in Alaska and Galena Creek Rock Glacier in Wyoming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe already knew ground-penetrating radar works, but this was the first time we mounted it to drones and tested how we could put it into practice,\u201d said Aguilar. \u201cFor instance, we learned at what altitude and speed the drone should fly, as well as the importance of flying in the direction of the glacier\u2019s flow, and how to make sure the radar was properly aligned to detect the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n

As drones are able to fly much closer to the surface of a glacier, they\u2019re able to capture images at much higher resolutions. This allowed the researchers to not only estimate the debris thickness covering the buried glaciers in Alaska and Wyoming, but also assess the purity of the ice and spot any rocky layers hidden inside.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe internal layers we\u2019re seeing are important because they\u2019re a record of past climate cycles,\u201d Aguilar said. \u201cEach layer represents a different period of ice accumulation and environmental conditions over centuries or millennia, and it is likely we would see similar layers on Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GalenaDrone carrying a ground-penetrating radar instrument lifts off from Galena Creek Rock Glacier in Wyoming. Credit: Jack W. Holt<\/p>\n

To validate their methods, the researchers compared measurements obtained from the ground-penetrating radar with those from excavating and drilling into the buried glaciers. These debris thickness measurements matched, suggesting drone-radar surveys could be performed on Mars with similar levels of success.<\/p>\n

The researchers also ran simulations to discriminate real subsurface features from reflections caused by nearby surface features, such as trees or boulders, and were able to confirm that the signals were indeed coming from the buried glaciers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are filling the gap between today\u2019s orbital observations and a more distant future, where astronauts land on Mars and make observations on the ground,\u201d said Aguilar. \u201cThis gives us a way to investigate the glaciers now, from the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"DeuteronilusA stereo image taken by the University of Arizona-led HiRISE camera aboard the NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter showing a viscous flow feature believed to contain large amounts of ice. Credit: HiRISE CTX<\/p>\n

Using these pioneering methods, Aguilar and others hope that future missions to Mars will be able to identify the best areas to drill into buried ice deposits and extract water that has been locked beneath the surface for more than four billion years. The study of this extracted water will reveal more about Mars\u2019 past climate and potential habitability to extraterrestrial life<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On Earth, scientists have discovered microbial<\/a> ecosystems inside the bodies of buried glaciers. These microbes live in thin films of water between ice crystals and gradually break down rocks, which releases nutrients such as iron, phosphorus and silicon into meltwater. While the chances of discovering similar living microbes on Mars may be slim, buried ice deposits hold the best potential for finding evidence that such life may have once existed.<\/p>\n

Top image: Obscured by rocky debris, the Sourdough Rock Glacier flows down from the Wrangell Mountains in Alaska. Credit: Eric Petersen<\/p>\n

More stories from around the world<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a study recently published in the\u00a0Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, researchers from the University of Arizona used…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[270],"tags":[18,19,17,133,451],"class_list":{"0":"post-465010","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-science","12":"tag-space"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116505242552004275","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}