Data combined from various Mars probes has revealed dense, large-scale structures beneath the floor of an ancient ocean.
According to Science Alert, a team of scientists led by Dr. Bart Root from Delft University of Technology (Netherlands) presented a new gravity map of Mars at the Europlanet Science Congress 2024. Some unusual structures appeared on this map.
These are a series of dense structures, large in scale, beneath an ocean that has long since disappeared in the northern hemisphere of the Red Planet.
Unusual structures hidden beneath the surface of Mars – (Image: DELFT UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY).
These structures have gradually emerged through the dataset that this research group compiled from various spacecraft, with significant contributions from NASA’s InSight lander, which was tasked with seismic exploration.
Additionally, some minor deviations in the data collected by Mars orbiters also helped identify these structures.
The presence of these structures has overturned a long-accepted theory about the Red Planet.
Specifically, geologists have been working with a concept known as regional isostasy, which refers to the bending of the lithosphere.
This concept describes how the lithosphere—the planet’s rigid outer layer, including the crust and a portion of the mantle—reacts to a large load.
When a heavy object presses down on the lithosphere, it will respond by sinking.
On Earth, Greenland is a prime example of this, where the massive ice sheet exerts pressure downward. As the ice melts due to global warming, the land in Greenland rises.
Isostatic bending is an essential idea for understanding glacial rebound, mountain formation, and sedimentary basin formation.
The new study suggests that we need to reevaluate this phenomenon on Mars.
Area with giant volcanoes on Mars – (Image: NASA).
Abnormalities lie within Olympus Mons – the largest volcano on Mars and the entire volcanic region known as Tharsis Montes.
According to the aforementioned theory, this vast volcanic region would cause the planet’s surface to sag. However, the opposite has occurred: Tharsis Montes is significantly higher than the rest of the surface of Mars.
The reason for this condition must be something with substantial mass deep within Mars, possibly rising from the mantle and elevating the massive volcanic region.
“This indicates that Mars may still have internal active movements occurring, creating new volcanic features on the surface,” the authors wrote.
Analyses suggest that this underground mass is approximately 1,750 km wide and lies 1,100 km deep. They suspect it is a mantle plume rising beneath Tharsis Montes, strong enough to counteract the downward pressure from the entire mass.
If it behaves like on Earth, there could be volcanic activity occurring in the future on Mars, challenging the long-held belief that this planet is “geologically dead.”
Geological activity is also closely related to a habitable environment, which may contribute significant details to research on Martian life.
So far, scientists are almost certain that this planet could have had life, which might have gone extinct billions of years ago, recently, or perhaps still lurks somewhere.
