EarthSky | Is Mars volcanically active?

This is a mosaic image of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano on Mars, taken by NASA’s Viking spacecraft. While volcanoes on Mars no longer erupt, a new study provides evidence that Mars is volcanically active, with hot magma still existing below the surface. Image via NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Mars has many volcanoes, including the largest known in the solar system, Olympus Mons. But volcanoes on Mars do not appear to be active. And, for decades, scientists assumed the planet was geologically dead. But is it? In late October 2022, an international team of researchers announced evidence that Mars is still volcanically active below its surface.

The results are based on data from NASA’s InSight lander. By analyzing seismic signals from earthquakes, researchers found that molten lava, aka magma, still exists underground.

The researchers say volcanism still plays an active role in shaping the Martian surface. They published their peer-reviewed findings in natural astronomy October 27, 2022. There is also a free preprint version of the article available at arXiv.

March tremor indices

Evidence of a still geologically active Mars comes from NASA’s InSight lander. InSight recorded the weak seismic pulses of earthquakes, the Martian equivalent of quakes. So far, InSight has detected more than 1,300 such earthquakes. Researchers have found that the epicenters of many earthquakes are in a region called Cerberus Fossae. This region contains many faults and faults. The researchers analyzed a series of more than 20 Marchquakes that originated there, mostly in the inner part of Cerberus Fossae. While most faults on Mars are no longer active, some are. As the newspaper mentions:

The InSight mission has been measuring the seismicity of Mars since February 2019 and has made it possible for the first time to study the tectonics on the surface of another planet. His dataset shows that most widely distributed surface faults are not seismically active, and that seismicity comes primarily from a single population of tectonic structures, the Cerberus Fossae.

Is Mars volcanically active?

The nature of low frequency earthquakes suggests that there is still hot magma below the surface. Data from the March tremors indicate a hot spring underground at Cerberus Fossae. Could it really be lava? Researchers say the epicenters of the earthquakes are clustered near a “young volcanic fissure”. The paper states:

We show that the spectral character of deeper low-frequency earthquakes suggests a structurally weak and potentially hot source region consistent with recent magmatic activity at depths of 30–50 km (19–31 miles).

How do scientists know it is young, geologically speaking? The dust deposits around him provide a clue. There are darker dust deposits around the crack. Notably, they are not only in the prevailing direction of the wind, but in all directions. These darker colored deposits are younger than the older and lighter ones. Simon Stähler, lead author at ETH Zurich, explained:

The darker hue of the dust signifies geological evidence of more recent volcanic activity – possibly within the past 50,000 years – relatively young, in geological terms.

The Cerberus Fossae fault system at Elysium Planitia, near the Martian equator. This is where the InSight lander detected the origin of the Mars tremors. Image via ESA/ DLR/ FU Berlin/ ETH Zurich.

A world not quite dead

The new results are exciting, as they seem to indicate that Mars is not as dead – at least geologically – as previously thought. The Red Planet’s volcanoes may no longer be erupting, but even the deep magma is a tantalizing find. Such pockets of still-hot magma could be the last embers of a much more active volcanic past on Mars. As Anna Mittelholz of ETH Zurich and Harvard University noted:

Although much remains to be learned, the evidence for potential magma on Mars is intriguing.

And, if such heat sources do indeed exist, perhaps they could also help keep water liquid below the surface. This would increase the chances that microbial life still exists underground.

An earlier study from 2020 also suggested that Mars was volcanically active in the geologically recent past, and may still be today.

The new findings are also helping scientists better understand geological processes here on Earth. There are many similarities between the two worlds. Mars has a general composition of iron, nickel, and sulfur. It also had a strong magnetic field, water, and a thicker atmosphere. However, if there is still enough heat below the surface for magma, then Mars is not as dead as we thought.

Bottom Line: An international team of scientists says data from NASA’s InSight lander shows Mars is volcanically active below the surface, with pockets of hot magma.

Source: Tectonics of Cerberus Fossae Unveiled by March Tremors

Source (preprint): Tectonics of Cerberus Fossae Unveiled by March Tremors

Via ETH Zurich

Paul Scott Anderson

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About the Author:

Paul Scott Anderson had a passion for space exploration that began as a child when he watched Carl Sagan’s Cosmos. During his studies, he was known for his passion for space exploration and astronomy. He started his blog The Meridiani Journal in 2005, which was a chronicle of planetary exploration. In 2015, the blog was renamed Planetaria. Although he is interested in all aspects of space exploration, his primary passion is planetary science. In 2011 he began writing about space independently, and currently writes for AmericaSpace and Futurism (part of Vocal). He has also written for Universe Today and SpaceFlight Insider, and has also been published in The Mars Quarterly and contributed additional articles for the popular Exoplanet iOS app for iPhone and iPad.

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