Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Oceans Covered Top One-Third of Mars While Life was Starting on Earth: Fascinating New Science Paper
The age of the Earth is 4.54 billion years, with an uncertainty of only 50 million years. Mars is a similar age to Earth.
A new peer reviewed scientific paper in the Nature journal was just released and it essentially proves that there was an ocean on Mars that covered the upper one-third of the planet. There have been two different shorelines identified, at which the ocean would have persisted for long enough at these water levels to create these features.
About 4 billion years ago, as life was evolving on Earth, the molten rock making up the core of Mars solidified, and thus the dynamo effect creating the Mars magnetic field ceased to operate, so the magnetic field vanished. Unfortunately, this magnetic field shielded the planet from the solar wind, so once it vanished the atmosphere on Mars vanished followed by the subsequent loss of Mars oceans and all surface water.
So the really interesting question becomes whether or not the oceans on Mars were there long enough for life to evolve in them. This question remains unresolved, but we do know there was definitely an ocean on Mars at least until about 4 billion years ago.
Out of this world stuff. Mind boggling...
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-paul-continue-his-climate-emergency-research
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References
Topographic Map of Mars:
perplexity.ai/search/topographic-map-of-mars-E0ub9LLzQRGtGyzO6zNqDA?sm=i
Another Topographic Map of Mars:
perplexity.ai/search/topographic-map-of-mars-E0ub9LLzQRGtGyzO6zNqDA?sm=i
Peer-reviewed article in Nature journal published April 15, 2026
Title: Identifying the topographic signature of early Martian oceans
Link: nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10381-2
Abstract
Planet-wide interpretations of shorelines suggest that Mars once hosted an early ocean covering one-third of its surface. However, the elevations of these shorelines deviate from an equipotential surface by several kilometers, challenging that interpretation. Here we investigate whether a planet that once hosted an ocean should be expected to leave discernible shorelines. We show that on Earth, the most prominent topographic signature of a global ocean is not a shoreline. Rather, it is a band of low slope and curvature values that comprises coastal plains and the continental shelf, with an elevation range of −410 m to −15 m. When applying a similar analysis to the Martian surface, we observe a comparably flat zone between approximately –1,800 m and –3,800 m elevation, potentially marking a partially preserved Martian coastal shelf. Although other processes, such as lava flows13, might explain flat regions locally, a coastal shelf best explains the circum-global band of flat topography, in addition to river delta deposits, coastal deposits, thick sequences of layered rock and aqueously altered minerals, all observed within the putative coastal shelf zone. Our results support the presence of an ancient ocean on Mars and indicate that topographic shelves rather than shorelines may be better indicators of long-lived oceans.
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-paul-continue-his-climate-emergency-research
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
Oceans Covered Top One-Third of Mars While Life was Starting on Earth: Fascinating New Science Paper
The age of the Earth is 4.54 billion years, with an uncertainty of only 50 million years. Mars is a similar age to Earth.
A new peer reviewed scientific paper in the Nature journal was just released and it essentially proves that there was an ocean on Mars that covered the upper one-third of the planet. There have been two different shorelines identified, at which the ocean would have persisted for long enough at these water levels to create these features.
About 4 billion years ago, as life was evolving on Earth, the molten rock making up the core of Mars solidified, and thus the dynamo effect creating the Mars magnetic field ceased to operate, so the magnetic field vanished. Unfortunately, this magnetic field shielded the planet from the solar wind, so once it vanished the atmosphere on Mars vanished followed by the subsequent loss of Mars oceans and all surface water.
So the really interesting question becomes whether or not the oceans on Mars were there long enough for life to evolve in them. This question remains unresolved, but we do know there was definitely an ocean on Mars at least until about 4 billion years ago.
Out of this world stuff. Mind boggling...
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-paul-continue-his-climate-emergency-research
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
References
Topographic Map of Mars:
perplexity.ai/search/topographic-map-of-mars-E0ub9LLzQRGtGyzO6zNqDA?sm=i
Another Topographic Map of Mars:
perplexity.ai/search/topographic-map-of-mars-E0ub9LLzQRGtGyzO6zNqDA?sm=i
Peer-reviewed article in Nature journal published April 15, 2026
Title: Identifying the topographic signature of early Martian oceans
Link: nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10381-2
Abstract
Planet-wide interpretations of shorelines suggest that Mars once hosted an early ocean covering one-third of its surface. However, the elevations of these shorelines deviate from an equipotential surface by several kilometers, challenging that interpretation. Here we investigate whether a planet that once hosted an ocean should be expected to leave discernible shorelines. We show that on Earth, the most prominent topographic signature of a global ocean is not a shoreline. Rather, it is a band of low slope and curvature values that comprises coastal plains and the continental shelf, with an elevation range of −410 m to −15 m. When applying a similar analysis to the Martian surface, we observe a comparably flat zone between approximately –1,800 m and –3,800 m elevation, potentially marking a partially preserved Martian coastal shelf. Although other processes, such as lava flows13, might explain flat regions locally, a coastal shelf best explains the circum-global band of flat topography, in addition to river delta deposits, coastal deposits, thick sequences of layered rock and aqueously altered minerals, all observed within the putative coastal shelf zone. Our results support the presence of an ancient ocean on Mars and indicate that topographic shelves rather than shorelines may be better indicators of long-lived oceans.
Please donate to PaulBeckwith.net to support my research and videos connecting the dots on abrupt climate system mayhem.
GoFundMe: gofundme.com/f/help-paul-continue-his-climate-emergency-research
Please subscribe to my YouTube channel. As well as my website, and YouTube, you can find me on Patreon, Facebook, Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Reddit (multiple climate channels within), Quora, TikTok, Discord, Mastodon, Twitch, Vimeo, Bluesky, TruthSocial, Threads, Substack, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc...
