It’s believed that —long—ago there was a massive tsunami on Mars.
The planet used to have a lot more water than it does today. Between 3 and 5 billion years ago, there was an asteroid that hit, causing a 100-foot tall wave to streak across the surface.
Dr Costard of France proposed this theory.
Citing that this was the likely impact zone of where it happened.
Per his words:
We attribute its broad and shallow rim, in part, to an impact into a shallow ocean as well as its subsequent erosion from the collapsing transient water cavity. The likely marine formation of the Lomonosov crater and the apparent agreement in its age with that of the Thumbprint Terrain unit strongly suggests that it was the source crater of the tsunami. These results have implications for the stability of a late northern ocean on Mars.
Like a lot of planetary discoveries, there’s a lot of mystery still around all of this. Everything is theoretical. But it still is interesting to think of a wave screamed across the surface of Mars, let alone there being that much water on the planet in the first place.
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