Were seasonal climate patterns possible on early Mars?

New observations of mud cracks made by the Curiosity Rover show that high-frequency, wet-dry cycling occurred in early Martian surface environments, indicating that the red planet may have once seen seasonal weather patterns or even flash floods (Nature). These mud cracks reveal the transitional time when liquid water was less abundant but still active on the Martian surface, a release says. These features also point to the existence of wet-dry environments on Earth are extremely conducive to the development of organic molecules and potentially life. Taken as a whole, these results give us a clearer picture of Mars as a habitable world, Nina Lanza, principal investigator of the ChemCam instrument onboard the Curiosity rover says in a release. The researchers found a change in mud crack patterns, signifying a change in the way the surface would have dried. This indicates that water was still present on the surface of Mars episodically, meaning water could have been present for a time, evaporated, and repeated until polygons, or mud cracks, formed.