Rather than being a standing sea slowly accumulating sediment, Meridiani seems to have the characteristic chemistry of transient lake beds in a terrestrial desert, or salt flats on a seashore.

• 梅里蒂亚尼平原的化学表征使它看上去更像是内陆沙漠中短期存在的湖泊的沉积矿，或海岸上的盐带平地，而非长期存在的海洋中缓慢聚集的沉积物。