Scientists now know that things are running very smoothly on Mars, and adds evidence that the red planet is far from dead.
New research has revealed previously undetected earthquakes beneath the surface of Mars, which experts believe is evidence. It keeps the magma ocean at its surface.
They believe that “Mars earthquakes” are best explained by the volcanic activity that takes place beneath Mars’ dusty and barren landmass, and that they are more volcanic and seismic than previously thought.
Experts have long thought that not much has happened on Mars, but researchers at the Australian National University made their discovery after combining data from NASA’s Mars Insight study.
New research has revealed previously undetected earthquakes beneath the surface of Mars, which experts believe is evidence of the presence of magma oceans on its surface. Pictured here is the artist’s rendering of Insight Lander, which has been “taking the pulse of Mars” since landing on Mars in 2018.
Using two unusual methods recently used for geophysics, experts have identified 47 new seismic phenomena coming from the region of Cerberus Foss (pictured) on Mars.
Researchers at the Australian National University made their discovery after combining data from NASA’s Mars Insight study. Pictured are Insight landing site and waveforms of two Mars earthquakes
Harvoje Tagalik, a geophysicist at the Australian National University in Australia, said: “Knowing that the crust of Mars is still active is important for our understanding of how Mars formed.”
This will help us to answer basic questions about the evolution of the solar system and the core, mantle, and magnetic field of Mars.
Mars has a very low magnetic field, which indicates a lack of internal activity.
Planetary magnetic fields are usually created by something called a dynamo within a planet – a rotating, convective, electrically conductive fluid that converts kinetic energy into magnetic energy and rotates a magnetic field in space.
Earth’s magnetic field protects us from life-threatening cosmic radiation, but Mars is far from the Sun, and its radiation levels are high.
“All life on Earth is possible because of the Earth’s magnetic field and its ability to protect us from cosmic radiation, so it would not be possible without magnetic field life,” Tkalči said.
However, NASA’s Insight study arrived in November 2018 and began to “take the pulse of Mars” I saw the planet collapsing.
So far, hundreds of Martian earthquakes have been detected, but Tkalči and his colleague, Geo Sun, a geologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, wanted to search for earthquakes that were not observed in the Insight data.
Using two unusual techniques, recently applied to geophysics, the two discovered 47 new seismic phenomena coming from the region of Cerberus Foss on Mars.
Most of them are similar in magnitude to the two Cerberus Fossae earthquakes that occurred in May and July 2019, indicating that smaller earthquakes are associated with larger earthquakes.
While searching to find the cause of the earthquakes, the researchers rejected the impact of Mars’ moon phobos and found that there was no pattern at their time.
“We have found that these Martian earthquakes occur frequently at all times of the day, while NASA detects and reports that Martian earthquakes seem to occur only on the night when the planet is calm,” Tkalči said.
Since its arrival in November 2018, Insight Exploration has worked with a number of missions orbiting Mars, including the Curiosity rover.
Therefore, we can infer that the motion of the molten rock on Mars was the driver for the 47 newly discovered earthquakes under the Cerberus Fossai region.
Previous research by Cerberus Fossae has already indicated that the region has been active for the past 10 million years.
If Mars were more volcanic and seismic than previously thought, Tkalčić and Sun believe scientists would change the way it looks at its past, present and future.
Earthquakes indirectly help to understand whether convection occurs inside the planet, and if such convection occurs, it should be based on our conclusions that there should be another mechanism to prevent the formation of a magnetic field on Mars, Tkalči said.
“Understanding the magnetic field of Mars, how it formed, and at what point in the planet’s history it is clearly important for future missions and if scientists ever believe in establishing human life on Mars.”
Search published in Natural contact.
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