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Microdissection of Black Widow Spider Silk-producing Glands
Published on: January 11, 2011
Spiders: water-driven erosive structures in the southern hemisphere of Mars
Olga Prieto-Ballesteros1, David C Fernández-Remolar, José Antonio Rodríguez-Manfredi
1Centro de Astrobiología, Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Ctra. Ajalvir km. 4, 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain. prietobo@inta.es
Abstract:
Recent data from space missions reveal that there are ongoing climatic changes and erosive processes that continuously modify surface features of Mars. We have investigated the seasonal dynamics of a number of morphological features located at Inca City, a representative area at high southern latitude that has undergone seasonal processes. By integrating visual information from the Mars Orbiter Camera on board the Mars Global Surveyor and climatic cycles from a Mars' General Circulation Model, and considering the recently reported evidence for the presence of water-ice and aqueous precipitates on Mars, we propose that a number of the erosive features identified in Inca City, among them spiders, result from the seasonal melting of aqueous salty solutions.
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