Scientists find 'rock' solid reason why water disappeared on Mars

New Delhi : There have been significant signs showing there could be large oceans and lakes on the Mars. But where did they go? Researchers may have an answer in their latest findings about the Red planet.

According to the new findings, scientists reveal that water on the planet may have been soaked in by the stones.

Previous studies had claimed that the water was swept into space by powerful solar winds when the planet's magnetic field collapsed, while some was captured in sub-surface ice.

Since they were not convinced with the previous studies, researchers put scientific modelling to the test.

"The results revealed that the basalt rocks on Mars can hold approximately 25 percent more water than those on Earth, and as a result drew the water from the Martian surface into its interior," said a statement from Oxford University, where scientists took part in the study.

As on Earth, chemical weathering and hydrothermal reactions can change minerals in rock from dry to water-bearing, study co-author Jon Wade of Oxford told AFP.

But Martian rock, because of a different composition, is much better at doing so.

Such rocks may have soaked in water from the planet.

The latest findings from the study have been published in the journal Nature.