Change of Season Brings Martian Ice Patches
Subsurface Water Locations Identified
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As the seasons change on Mars, water undergoes changes as well.  The surface can warm or cool just as the surface of the Earth does, and underground water can form patches of ice when the temperatures drop enough.  Here are some images that show the formation of ice patches in the dune field not far from Endurance Crater, and only meters from where the rover was stuck in muddy soil for weeks.

This image shows a small light colored area that is unlike the other portions of the dune.  This is from Sol 512, Opportunity.  The original image is located here at the NASA/JPL website.
More of these spots start showing up (and note that none were visible only a few sols before, as shown by all the previous images taken in this area).  Some are quite large and prominent- we could not have possibly missed these if they had been present.  This is from Sol 524 and it is clearly something very different from the surrounding dune materials- sand, spherules and salt.

The original image is here at the NASA/JPL website.
Sol 530 brings even more white patches and more images.  Here is a great image of two closely spaced patches.  Apparently, water is erupting and freezing into these spots, and there are other signs that this is a fluid that freezes, and not just some mineral or salt deposit.  If these are related to the geysers seen earlier near Eagle Crater and Endurance Crater, then we should see some evidence of spray.  I will show that next.

The original image is located here at the NASA/JPL website.
Water droplets, if sprayed on soil, leave a distinctive pattern or marking.  There are specific effects that only liquid water can produce, and these effects have been revealed by the microscopic imager.  First, let us see what we will be examining- a wheel mark left in the soil by Opportunity's  own wheels.

This mark was made as Opportunity rolled over the soil, leaving a clean, flat print that was smooth and featureless.  Here we can see the rover arm applying the microscope to the area for a close up look.

Note the time code on the image- 173457748 - this is very important and it confirms that this is the position of the instrumentation arm when the microscopic image was taken,

The original image is here at the NASA/JPL website.
Here is a close up shot of the wheel mark and it shows that something has changed it completely in a matter of a few sols.  It should be smooth and clean unless something is eroding it.

But look- the fine droplet patterns of water spray have been recorded in the soil surface!  Since the rover last ran over this area, some liquid has sprayed or splattered over it, leaving these dimples.  This lace-like pattern is identical with the markings produced by fast, fine spray such as water droplets would produce.  The time code for this image is 173458040  This is 292 seconds, or just over 4 and a half minutes after the image of the instrumentation arm.

The original image is here at the NASA/JPL website.
Now compare this with these duplicated markings made in fine sand that is mixed to simulate some of the Martian soil properties.  This shot was made using a digital camera and a magnifying lens, and the sand was sprayed with a very fine, high-speed mist just as the Martian geysers should produce.

The droplets produce a fine, lacey cratering pattern that is caused when tiny droplets carry sand outward from the impact and create tiny crater walls.  Raindrops in soil also create this pattern, but it is larger.
Now, look what the result is when I use simulated spherules and a finer, faster spray.  This is a nearly perfect duplication of the pattern we see in the original Martian microscopic image from Sol 510.

If this were the only evidence, it might not be convincing.  But then we see the next image from the microscope and we can confirm that only a spray of liquid droplets can produce this effect, and that there are examples here on Earth that confirm this statement.
When rain falls on sand that is covered with small stones or pebbles, it often can carve away the sand around the stones and leave them on small "pedestals".  This effect can be seen in this microscopic image taken only a few centimeters from the droplet pattern image.

The time code is 173457706 for this image,  This is just 42 seconds before the image of the instrumentation arm and proves that the arm cannot have been moved significantly.

The original image is here at the NASA/JPL website.
This image was made in the Ocala national Forest and shows the exact same phenomenon.  Small stones were present on a deposit of sand and rainfall washed the sand away around the stones, leaving them on pedestals.

These images, altogether, show that a fine, high speed spray of some fluid is necessary to explain what we are seeing.,  They also show that soil erosion happens within a few sols (or days_ on Mars, contrary to what we have been told.  Furthermore, the sources of this spray , when the weather turns cold, can freeze and leave white patches on the ground.

Occam's razor forces us to accept that the simplest explanation is liquid water present on the surface and in the soil of Mars.
Conclusion - Liquid water is still present on Mars today, and we are seeing its effects on the soil in a matter of hours to days.  Three key pieces of evidence show that this water leaves droplet patterns in the soil, washes soil away from the spherules leaving them on pedestals, and create white patches when it freezes.

Unless NASA scientists can come up with a more credible explanation, we must accept that this is clear evidence of liquid water on Mars today.

But couldn't this be something other than ice?

Possibly- it might be that the same bedrock that was observed in Eagle, Endurance, and Fram Craters extends all throughout and under the entire Meridiani Planum area- and beyond.  If this were that bedrock showing through, then it would raise other questions.  There is evidence that the bedrock must extend for many hundreds of square kilometers because the area is still covered with spherules. But, if this is the case, then erosion and dune movement must be a constant and pervasive force.  Once again, water must be a part of the equation.  And, you will see that both spherules and rocks are present only on the surface of the ground!  This can only be true if soil water is present, and frost heave lifts the materials to the surface.  In other words, this too is proof of the presence of water.