Experimental study of sediment transport processes by liquid water and brine under Martian pressure

We present here an experimental study to compare the behaviour of water and brine releases over loose sediments under present-day Martian pressure. Water has been invoked to explain current or past Martian surface features for decades. Recent studies have indicated that current surface conditions are, in certain times and places, compatible with the transient existence of liquid water or brine. However, the behaviour of water or brine releases over loose sediments under low Martian atmospheric pressure has been poorly studied.