Lakes on Mars

On Earth, lakes provide favorable environments for the development of life and its preservation as fossils. They are extremely sensitive to climate fluctuations and to conditions within their watersheds. As such, lakes are unique markers of the impact of environmental changes. Past and current missions have now demonstrated that water once flowed at the surface of Mars early in its history. Evidence of ancient ponding has been uncovered at scales ranging from a few kilometers to possibly that of the Arctic ocean. Whether life existed on Mars is still unknown; upcoming missions may find critica.

Searching for lakes on Mars : four decades of exploration / Nathalie A. Cabrol and Edmond A. Grin -- Acquisition and history of water on Mars / Michael H. Carr and James W. Head -- Hydrologic provinces of Mars : physiographic controls on drainage and ponding / Rene A. De Hon -- Heated lakes on Mars / Horton E. Newsom -- Lakes in Valles Marineris / Baerbel K. Lucchitta -- Episodic ponding and outburst flooding associated with chaotic terrains in Valles Marineris / Keith P. Harrison and Mary G. Chapman -- Evidence for ancient lakes in the Hellas region / Sharon A. Wilson [and others] -- Deltas and valley networks on Mars : implications for a global hydrosphere / Gaetano di Achille and Brian M. Hynek -- The northern plains : a Martian oceanic basin? / Timothy J. Parker, John A. Grant, and Brenda J. Franklin -- The Western Elysium Planitia paleolake / Matthew R. Balme [and others] -- The sedimentary record of modern and ancient dry lakes / Gian G. Ori -- Aqueous depositional settings in Holden crater, Mars / John A. Grant, Rossman P. Irwin III, and Sharon A. Wilson -- Dynamics of declining lake habitat in changing climate / Nathalie A. Cabrol [and others].