Start with a blacksmith shop.

When the snowy owl heard someone follow his train of thought and say what he wanted to say, he immediately clapped his hands vigorously.

"Yes, that's exactly what you said. The source of the water probably won't change much in the short term, but we should still go and see what changes will occur in the water after it flows out."

Once we've documented the changes along the water's flow path, and then returned to the source to observe it, we'll have a much deeper understanding of Mars!

After the snowy owl finished explaining to the group, the spaceplane started up and flew off in the direction of the flowing water.

They used a high-definition camera to film the water flow and related phenomena from the plane.

Since the spaceplane mainly observes the dynamics below, it doesn't fly very fast, and the water flow below doesn't seem to be any different.

The difference is that when water flows across the surface of Mars, it carries away a significant amount of soil from the land it passes over. This soil is washed down by the water and mixed with the water flow.

Originally, the water was clear and free of impurities when it came out of the water source. However, as the water continued to flow and carried away a large amount of soil, it began to change color.

The water, which was originally clear and colorless, turned into a turbid, sandy, reddish-brown stream, a color that looked remarkably like the color of a mountain flood on Earth.

The spaceplane continued to fly forward, and large amounts of water continued to flow, constantly washing away the soil on the Martian surface.

The plane flew forward for a while longer, and the water flow finally slowed down. Not only did the flow slow down, but the water volume also decreased. This was because the surface of Mars was too dry, and a significant portion of the water had been absorbed by the Martian surface.

Therefore, after they flew a certain distance, the impact of the water flow decreased, and the water flow also decreased.

The plane continued flying in the direction of the water flow. The water flow didn't go very far, so they were almost at the end of the water flow in no time.

At this moment, the water flowing beneath the Snowy Owls' aircraft no longer possessed the same force as at its source. Although it was still flowing forward, the current water flow was just like a forest stream on Earth.

The previous momentum of rushing into the sea was completely gone; instead, a babbling brook appeared below them.

Because of the lack of impact, the various sand and mud carried down from upstream remained in the path of the flowing water. As a result, the babbling brook below them became clear again.

The plane stopped here, and Snowy Owl and his crew planned to land here, as it was the perfect spot to collect water samples—there was no better location.

Snowy Owl and one other person prepared on the plane. Once they were ready, the spaceplane landed on the surface of Mars again from its hovering position.

After making full preparations, the snowy owl and its crew immediately disembarked from the plane, carrying all the necessary tools, and went directly to the stream.

Next came the sampling process, which was extremely rigorous, as they were afraid that the samples they obtained would be substandard and affect their future research.

The snowy owl approached the still-flowing water, but instead of collecting samples immediately, it first took out the temperature measurement device.

After taking it out, they first measured the temperature of Mars at that moment and place, and then inserted the thermometer into the stream in front of them.

When the water temperature was measured, the snowy owl was taken aback, but then it understood why.

After collecting all the data obtained here, and after all that happened last night, the snowy owl took out the sampling device and began taking samples.

Furthermore, this sampling was not just a small amount, but a large amount, including samples to be brought back to Earth, as well as samples that will be tested on the plane.

The water sample was collected smoothly, and the two Snowy Owls immediately returned to the plane after the sampling was completed.

Upon returning to the aircraft, it immediately left the Martian surface and hovered in the air above the original location.

And what are the astronauts on board doing now? They are all in the onboard laboratory, analyzing the water composition of the water that has just been sampled.

The instruments were running on the plane, but their mission was still not complete. Snowy Owl and the others flew towards the direction of the water flow once again.

The plane didn't fly forward for long before they reached the end of the stream.

The water eventually began to gather here, and stopped flowing forward. It stopped in this low-lying area, and as more and more water gathered, it eventually formed a small lake.

Moreover, the lake exhibits obvious signs of freezing, and the water at the bottom of the lake, where the flow first ceased, has already frozen into ice.

The lake is currently frozen at the bottom and filled with water on top, and the newly flowing water is also slowly turning into ice.

According to the astronauts' predictions, as long as no new water flow arrives, it won't be long before the small lake turns into a solid block of ice, and the entire lake will freeze into one piece.

After collecting data at the source of the water flow, the spaceplane did indeed fly back towards the source of the water flow.

They flew back very quickly, partly because they didn't need to observe the area along the way. By the time they returned to the crater, the water flow from the gushing water had already begun to decrease.

This is clearly because the internal pressure here has decreased, causing the water flow from the gushing water gap to decrease.

Snowy Owl and the others were also amazed that they had returned at just the right time, allowing them to gather a comprehensive understanding of the situation here.

For some time afterward, they continued filming from the sky, and time passed by unnoticed as they filmed.

Finally, after their waiting, the water stopped gushing out of the crevice; even the small trickle of water had stopped flowing out.

Seeing that the water below had stopped gushing outwards, the astronauts on the spaceplane once came down from the plane and came here to conduct rigorous sampling.

After they collected the samples, one of the astronauts, out of curiosity, returned to the crater to look inside and see the current state of the volcano.

Upon closer inspection, he witnessed a new development: the crater, which had been emitting an orange-red glow, contained flowing lava, with occasional bursts of lava shooting into the air.

But now these magma rocks no longer exist. There's no magma left in the crater; they've all turned into iron-black magma rocks.

As the commander, Snowy Owl couldn't be on board every time the plane went out, so he stayed on the plane to keep watch. After discovering the situation in the crater, Snowy Owl didn't go to the scene, but he still made bold guesses about the situation through the video.

He also recalled the various situations he encountered on his way to the end of the stream, and when all these situations were put together, he actually discovered something remarkable.

The snowy owl did not make a fuss, but continued to refine its theory based on the existing information.

The astronauts on the Martian surface were still busy collecting environmental data. After they finished collecting the data, the astronauts who had just returned to the plane immediately started chattering about it.

The conversation was all about how these wonders had happened on Mars before. As the voices of the discussion grew quieter, the team members realized that Commander Snow Owl hadn't participated at all during their discussion.

After the astronauts collected data from the vicinity of the crater again, the spaceplane once again hovered in the air not far away.

Seeing that the team members had quieted down, Snow Owl didn't pretend to be mysterious and simply told everyone his guess.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but this volcanic eruption on Mars is extremely unusual, practically unique."

Everyone was puzzled as to why the snowy owl would say that. Volcanic eruptions on Mars are a special case, but no one knew why he would say such a thing!

The team members looked at the snowy owl with puzzled expressions, wanting to hear what he was trying to say.

"First of all, I want to say that this volcano is not the first or the last to erupt; it has erupted countless times."

Everyone was trying to understand what he was saying, but the Snow Owl's words revealed too little information, leaving them unsure how to interpret them or what he was trying to express.

Everyone just kept looking at the snowy owl with puzzled eyes, quietly listening to him continue.

"Please remember this first point. You'll understand once I've finished explaining everything."

Let's take a comprehensive view of this Martian volcanic eruption, including the eruption itself, the outflow of lava, the localized increase in temperature and humidity, the large amount of water spewing from the hillsides near the volcano, the subsequent flash floods caused by the excessive volume of water, and finally, the water flowing all the way to the lake where it eventually froze into ice.

When you connect all of this, what comes to mind?

The snowy owl had already explained things very clearly, but he had only said half of what he wanted to say, and the team members still didn't understand.

"Comrades, it is a cycle, what I am talking about is a cycle, and this should form a perfect closed loop!"

The continuous accumulation of energy inside Mars eventually leads to volcanic eruptions, which in turn cause the temperature to rise, both on the surface and underground.

What happens when temperatures rise? The temperature of large amounts of underground solid and liquid water near the volcano also rises. When the water boils due to excessive heat, the internal pressure increases, and the water will erupt from weak points in the Earth's crust.

At this point, Snowy Owl stopped talking. Although everyone already knew more or less about these things before, he still gave the team members time to digest them.

After waiting a few minutes, he took the opportunity to drink some water, and when everyone's attention turned to him again, he began to speak again.

"Everyone probably already knows these things, so I'll continue with my new guess: after the water gushed out, the groundwater found an outlet, and water from other places was also converging on this place."

The volcano is constantly heating the nearby water, and the heated water is constantly spewing outwards. As the volcano's temperature continues to heat the water, the volcano's temperature is gradually decreasing.

Eventually, the volcano's temperature was cooled by a large amount of water, and the volcano returned to calm. The water, without heat, stopped boiling and was no longer under great pressure, so it stopped gushing outwards!

This volcano has thus completed one cycle, a cycle of eruption and cooling. I think everyone understands what I'm trying to say now!

After hearing his account, everyone was shocked by his conjecture. Thinking about it, it seemed like the previous volcanic eruption followed this pattern, and the more they thought about it, the more it seemed to be true.

"Boss, I understand what you mean by 'cycle,' but why do you say this isn't the first time? I don't understand that!"

Upon hearing this question, the snowy owl immediately began to answer them, which of course involved his speculation.

"This problem is actually quite easy to understand. Everyone should know that at the end of the water flow, there was a huge pit, but now it has become a lake, or rather, a huge ice block."

"Everyone, think back carefully. Along the way we followed the water, did you notice anything?"

Under his guidance, all the team members followed his line of thought, and one of the quick-thinking team members answered after a moment's thought.

"What the boss means is that the direction of water flow is specific and there is a fixed river channel. Since the water flow has a fixed river channel, it proves that this water must not be flowing through here for the first time. This river channel has been carved out by the water after countless mountain floods."

Am I right? I feel my understanding is quite accurate!

After hearing this answer, the snowy owl immediately cast an admiring glance at the person.

"Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to illustrate, which is why I said this volcano isn't erupting for the first time, nor will it be erupting for the last! I wonder what everyone thinks of my speculation!"

Only after listening to the snowy owl's account did everyone realize that everything they had said before was just speculation.

Almost all the team members who had listened to the snowy owl had taken what it had just said as fact.

Everyone was full of admiration at this moment. Looking at the snowy owl, they felt more and more that what the snowy owl said must be the truth.

Just after all the team members figured out this conjecture, one of them had a question and asked it.

"Boss, I understand the question from before, but there's still one thing I don't understand, which is..."