European scientists find evidence of a mass expanse of ice just below the surface on Mars.
It is the first time that large magnitude of ice has been discovered outside the Mars poles.
Pictures of plated and rutted features convinced the astronomy team that a vast expanse of ice covering an area 800 by 900km lies in the near-equatorial Elysium region.
In keeping with the planetŐs mythological tempestuous nature a catastrophic event flooded the landscape five million years ago that then froze out.
The large reserves of water-ice were then prevented from evaporating by a thin layer of covering volcanic sediment.
Images taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera on Europe's Mars Express spacecraft showed extensive fields of large, platy features that closely resemble fractured ice floes found in polar regions on Earth.
It is widely thought that the water that formed the sea in the southern Elysium, five degree north of the equator, was formed by a series of erupting fractures known as the Cerberus Fossae deep below the Mars surface.
The presence of so much recent (in the geological timeframe) liquid water will excite the speculation that life could have thrived in this area.
Details of the frozen sea were given at the Mars Express science conference, taking place at Esa's European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
Further information can be found in New Scientist magazine and in an upcoming edition of Nature.
Andrew Zilouf
More Ice Found on Mars
Mars is home to a huge frozen sea.
