Scientists have uncovered further evidence that liquid water exists beneath the ice cap at the southern pole of Mars and it may mean that the planet is geothermally active.

In 2018, the European Mars Express orbiter found that the surface of the ice cap covering the south pole of Mars dips and rises, suggesting liquid water may be lurking underneath. But not all scientists were convinced at that time. Mars is extremely cold, and for subglacial water to exist on the planet in the liquid form, there would have to be a source of heat, such as geothermal energy. At the time of the Mars Express discovery, some scientists therefore thought the  strange radar signal measured by the spacecraft might be explained by something else, for example some sort of dry material below the ice caps.

But recently, an international team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Cambridge investigated the ice-sheet-covered region, known as Ultimis Scopili, using a different technique and concluded that the presence of liquid water is, indeed, the likeliest explanation.

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Using spacecraft laser-altimeter measurements from NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor satellite to map the topography, or shape, of the upper surface of the ice cap, the researchers detected  subtle patterns of height differences that matched computer model predictions for how a body of water beneath the ice cap would affect its surface.

Read more: Space