由剑桥大学领导的研究团队通过使用航天器上的激光高度计来测量冰盖上表面的形状，以识别该高度的细微图案。随后他们发现，测量结果与计算机模型预测的冰盖下的水体对地表产生的影响相匹配。

The researchers, led by the University of Cambridge, used spacecraft laser-altimeter measurements of the shape of the upper surface of the ice cap to identify subtle patterns in its height. They then showed that these patterns match computer model predictions for how a body of water beneath the ice cap would affect the surface.

观测结果与早期的冰穿透雷达测量结果一致，这些测量最初被解释为显示了冰下潜在的液态水区域。仅从雷达数据对液态水的解释一直存在争议，一些研究表明雷达信号不是由液态水引起的。

Their results agree with earlier ice-penetrating radar measurements that were originally interpreted to show a potential area of liquid water beneath the ice. There has been debate over the liquid water interpretation from the radar data alone, with some studies suggesting the radar signal is not due to liquid water.

Mars at Ls 211°: South Polar Region.  火星Ls 211°南极地区

Credit: NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems

这项成果发表在《自然天文学》杂志上。作为首个独立证据，它使用了雷达以外的数据来证明火星南极冰盖下方存在液态水。

The results, reported in the journal Nature Astronomy, provide the first independent line of evidence, using data other than radar, that there is liquid water beneath Mars’south polar ice cap.