Mars, despite its current calm appearance, holds a tumultuous past with volcanic activity, potentially offering insights into Earth's history.
Recent research by Professor Joseph Michalski of the University of Hong Kong suggests Mars experienced diverse volcanism, primarily driven by early crust recycling known as vertical tectonics, challenging previous notions.
A Closer Look at the Eridania Region's Volcanic Legacy
Michalski, alongside colleagues from the University of Hong Kong, meticulously examined volcanic remnants on Mars in the Eridania region using data collected from various orbiters. In contrast to Earth, which has a crust of interlocking continental plates, Mars is generally considered a one-plate planet that experienced active volcanism in its past.
The Martian volcanoes discovered in the Eridania region were colossal and explosive, with Olympus Mons being the largest-a shield volcano boasting a volume 100 times greater than Earth's Mauna Loa in Hawaii. The remarkable size of these volcanoes on Mars stems from the planet's lack of tectonic plates, preventing the convenient release of mantle pressures through the sliding and sinking of plates, a process common on Earth.
The topography of the ancient terrain also yielded significant insights. The thickness of volcanic deposits in the Eridania region, along with sections of distorted and folded crust, as well as its depressed basins, led the researchers to hypothesize that the early Martian crust underwent a gradual overturning process akin to vertical tectonics, a precursor to plate tectonics.
The researchers anticipate the existence of numerous additional volcanoes in the Eridania region, many potentially erupting beneath an ancient sea. This scenario draws a fascinating parallel to Earth's Archean period when our planet was predominantly covered by water, fostering the emergence of early life forms.
How Mars' Volcanism Helps Understand Earth's Past
The team underscored Mars' pivotal role as a key element in comprehending planetary geology, given that around 70% of its surface is aged over 3 billion years. This extensive and well-preserved geological record offers valuable insights into the early conditions of the Solar System and provides clues about the evolutionary processes shaping the Martian crust.
Their attention focused on the Eridania region due to its highly magnetized crust and indications of an ancient Martian sea. Through the analysis of orbital data, they identified four distinct types of volcanoes in and around the Eridania Sea: volcanic domes, stratovolcanoes, pyroclastic shields, and caldera complexes.
These structures, remnants of intense geological activity approximately 3.5 billion years ago, bore similarities to Earth's volcanoes, albeit with slightly larger diameters attributable to Mars' lower gravity and more explosive volcanic mechanisms.
In light of these findings, the exploration of planets like Mars, featuring volcanism without plate tectonics, holds the potential to unravel the mysteries of early crustal recycling on both Mars and, by analogy, early Earth.
Professor Michalski concluded that Mars contains crucial geological puzzle pieces, contributing not only to our understanding of the Red Planet but also shedding light on Earth's geological history.
The study, titled "Diverse volcanism and crustal recycling on early Mars," published in the journal Nature Astronomy, holds significance in addressing long-standing debates among earth scientists regarding the formation of felsic continents on Earth.
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