Who would have thought cracks and fins would ever indicate there was water on Mars? The Mars rover Opportunity took pictures of Mars' surface that showed similar cracks and fins also present in an American desert. Studies done by Greg Chavdarian and Dawn Sumner from UC Davis show that these similarities indicate that water was present on the Martian surface recently.

The patterns of cracks and long, thin fins on boulders and outcrops on Mars' surface could only have been formed with damp sand. These same features are found on surfaces in the White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. Said place and the Martian surface are thought to have almost the same geological environment.

The fins are formed when water carrying minerals seep into cracks. When the water evaporates, the minerals are left behind exposed, gathering materials when the wind blows sand away. These materials stick to the fins that eventually become harder and stronger.

This new study done by UC Davis professors would eventually prove that water existed on the Martian surface and not only in Mars' polar ice caps.