Rumbles detected deep inside MarsThese speculations have elevated volcanic activity on Mars from “possible” to “likely”.
After studying a cluster of marsquakes detected by NASA’s InSight lander, researchers have concluded that molten magma is probably still present beneath the crust of Mars – meaning that the surface of Mars continues to be shaped by volcanism to this day.
This is the latest clue in a string of clues that point to Mars’ volcanic activity continuing long after its silence was assumed.
This could have implications on our understanding of the planet’s geoology and the search for life under the Martian surface.
Scientists believed that little was going on deep inside our tiny red neighbor until very recently.
There is no global magnetic field on the planet. This is because an internal magnetic field produces a magnetic field.
Then science happened: NASA sent InSight, equipped with sensitive seismic detectors and found that Mars is indeed home. You can hear the seismic activity rumbling and grumbling. – quite startlingly powerful seismic activity, In some cases.
InSight has detected over 1,300 Martian quakes to date.
These quakes can tell a lot about the country. Interior structure and activity of Mars, and a team of geophysicists led by Simon Stähler of ETH Zurich in Switzerland has just conducted a close study of a cluster of 20 recent quakes to gain a better understanding of what’s going on in the belly of the Mars-beast.
The team discovered that seismic activity is not common in most faults located on Mars. It is interesting to note that the cluster may have been formed in Cerberus Folsae. It consists of features called graben – where tectonic activity has caused faults to open up, resulting in blocks of crust slipping down between the parallel ridges of the faults.
The team discovered that the low frequency of deeper seismic waves could be indicative of a warm source area at 30 to 50 km (18 to 31 miles) below surface. This is consistent with molten magnesium and ongoing, current volcanic activity. Additionally, high-frequency earthquakes are observed at the Cerberus Fossae graben flanks.
Together, the Cerberus Folsae quakes account for at least half of all seismic activity found on Mars.
Next, the team compared the data to observational images from Cerberus Fossae. The team found darker dust in various directions coming out of a fissure known as the Cerberus Fossae Manntling Unit. This was identified last summer as Recent evidence of volcanic activity on Mars.
“The darker shade of the dust signifies geological evidence of more recent volcanic activity – perhaps within the past 50,000 years – relatively young, in geological terms,” Stähler “.
“It’s possible that we are seeing the last remnants from this once active volcano region, or that magma is moving eastward towards the next eruption location.”
Our increasing understanding of Mars shows how the planet has changed over its 4.5-billion-year life span.
Layers of sedimentary rocks and the presence aqueous mineralsIt is possible that Mars once was flooded with liquid water. This suggests that Mars may have been a more hospitable place to live than it appears today. WindyRed dust-ball as we see it today.
Understanding how Mars changed could help us understand our world which is very similar to our planet neighbor.
It also has implications for the search to find life in the larger galaxy. Knowing the factors that influence habitability and inhabitability will provide important information for assessing exoplanet potential habitability.
The question of whether life exists on Mars is also a constant concern. Scientists believe that liquid water lakes may be below the surface. They also It is possible to have too much.They may not be, but they will need some kind of heating source to keep them at a comfortable temperature. It would be possible with the presence of magma.
It is possible that Mars has a mysterious center, which is why Cerberus Fossae appears to be the best place to look for it.
“So far, no other tectonic feature on the InSight hemisphere of Mars has been unequivocally confirmed to be seismically active, and only recently … InSight detected large marsquakes on the far side, in the Southern Tharsis province,” The researchers write.
“The Cerberus Fossae gives us a unique view into Mars’s tectonics because no marsquakes were detected on wrinkle scarps or lobate Scarps.
The research was published in Astronomy in Nature.
