Mars has thousands of glaciers buried beneath its dusty surface, enough frozen water to blanket the planet with a 3.6-foot(1.1- metre) thick layer of ice, scientists said on Wednesday.
The glaciers are found in two bands in the mid-southern and mid-northern latitudes. Radar data, collected by Mars-orbiting satellites, combined with computer models of ice flows show the planet has about 5.3 trillion cubic feet (150 billion cubic metres) of water locked in the ice, according to a study published in this week's issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letter.
"The ice at the mid-latitudes is therefore an important part of Mars' water reservoir," Nanna Bjornholt Karlsson, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen's Neils Bohr Institute, said in a statement.
Billions of years ago, Mars, which lacks a protective, global magnetic field, lost much of its atmosphere. Several initiatives are under way to determine how much of the planet's water was stripped away and how much remains locked in ice in underground reservoirs.
Scientists suspect that the glaciers remained intact because they are protected under a thick layer of dust.
Currently, the planet's largest known water reservoir is in the polar caps.
Water 20 km Below Mars Surface? What Study Shows And What It Means US Scientists Find Reservoir Of Liquid Water On Mars In Pics: How NASA Prepared Astronauts For Future Mission To Mars "No Further Loss Of Time": CBI Takes Over Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case India Unveils Lethal 'Swadeshi' Kamikaze Drones With 1,000 Km Range "Seek Justice From My Country": Sheikh Hasina In First Remarks After Ouster Maruti Suzuki Fronx Goes To Japan As CBU, Following Footsteps Of Baleno Fruit Seller Runs Vehicle Over Forest Guard, Kills Him; Drags Body: Cops IIT Madras Aims To Lead In Research And Innovation, Says Director Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.