Some people sometimes call Mars a "dead planet" due to inactive volcanoes. However, University of Arizona researchers are proving that this is not the case. Researchers noticed a dark spot on Mars that was about the size of Tucson.
Volcanism on Mars peaked between 3 and 4 billion years ago, with smaller eruptions occurring as recently as 3 million years ago in isolated areas. However, there was no proof that Mars was still volcanically active until now.
Researchers found a previously unknown volcanic deposit using data from Mars-orbiting satellites. They published their findings in the journal Icarus under the title "Evidence for geologically recent explosive volcanism in Elysium Planitia, Mars."
Kaboom! Experts Found More Active Volcanoes!
Experts believe that most volcanic activity on Mars involved lava flowing across the earth, with large explosions thought to be uncommon in a Futurism report.
Lead author and Planetary Science Institute researcher David Horvath explained that comparatively fresh deposits of ash and scorched rock near the Cerberus Fossae region of fissures suggest that eruptions occurred during a completely different era of volcanic activity than the ancient eruptions that scientists were aware of.
"The young age of this deposit absolutely raises the possibility that there could still be volcanic activity on Mars and, [intriguingly,] recent Marsquakes detected by the InSight mission are sourced from the Cerberus Fossae," Horvath said in a press release.
Study co-author Jeff Andrews-Hanna, an associate professor at the UArizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the senior author on the study, also said in the statement that they knew there was something special when they first noticed this deposit.
He said the sediment was unlike anything else he'd seen in the region or even on Mars. These things reminded him more of features left by earlier volcanic eruptions on the Moon and Mercury.
Further analysis revealed that the material's characteristics, structure, and distribution are consistent with a pyroclastic eruption - an explosive magma eruption driven by rising gasses, similar to the opening of a shaken can of soda.
What About The Neighborhood?
According to Horvath, the likelihood of recent volcanism raises the risk of recent - or even extant - existence on Mars.
Scientists discovered a new scar, too. The characteristic is a dark deposit that measures 8 miles (12.9 km) thick and circles a deep fissure 20 miles (32.2 km) long, as seen from orbit in the Elysium Planitia. According to the team, it doesn't resemble anything else seen in the city or anywhere else on Mars.
The team estimated its age to be about 53,000 years based on its layers about its surroundings and the number of small craters within it. It doesn't seem to be the outcome of typical lava flow eruptions but rather a more violent occurrence called a pyroclastic explosion fueled by rising gases.
"The interaction of ascending magma and the icy substrate of this region could have provided favorable conditions for microbial life fairly recently and raises the possibility of extant life in this region," Horvath said in the release per New Atlas.
Of course, that part of the study is more speculative than connected scorched rocks to volcanoes. Still, it does raise the intriguing possibility that NASA's various Mars rovers and landers will meet some new neighbors.
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