Evidence of water moving across the Mars surface from NASA’s Curiosity rover.
Evidence of an ancient stream bed has been found on Mars at Gale Crater, according to NASA. As seen above, Curiosity has captured an image of conglomerates and stream bed gravel. Below is a Mars/Earth comparison image of conglomerate clasts and stream bed gravel. Conglomerates generally form via the deposition of rock materials which is cemented together by mud.
A comparison between Curiosity’s photo and a geologic stream bed on Earth from NASA.
The gravel size, according to NASA, implies water borne transport at around 1 metre per second, which is quite significant. The rounded shape of the gravel indicates significant transport distance.
This is a great find as it confirms weathering processes on Mars have not only been a result of wind action, but also a result of hydrologic processes. Below, is a topographic map showing the alluvial fan form near Curiosity’s ‘targeted’ landing site. Alluvial fans generally form from the down-slope movement of water. The images taken by Curiosity confirm the fan is likely a result of hydrologic processes.
A topographic map from NASA marking the landing zone for Curiosity and the alluvial fan that Curiosity sampled from.
Update: I just corrected my description of conglomerate
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