What keeps the deep, subsurface liquid water reservoirs beneath the Martian south polar ice cap from freezing?
Answer
A combination of insulating layers and a high concentration of dissolved salts, known as brine.
The liquid state of the deep reservoirs beneath Mars's south polar ice cap is maintained through mechanisms different from surface Earth oceans. These mechanisms include the insulating effect provided by the thick blanket of overlying ice and rock, which traps heat, and critically, the presence of significant amounts of dissolved salts. These salts, forming a brine solution, drastically lower the freezing point of the water, allowing it to remain liquid miles below the surface despite the cold temperatures above.
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