However, as with all other volcanoes on Mars, there are no signs that it is currently active.
Astronomers estimate that the volcano formed here more than 3.7 billion years ago, and has erupted occasionally since then, most recently perhaps “only” 10 million years ago
But Mars was once a volcanically very active world, with many massive eruptions and magma outpourings. On Mars today we see over 20 large and prominent extinct volcanoes, some of which are much larger than the largest volcanoes on Earth. The largest of them is the famous volcano Olympus Mons, which is almost three times higher than Mount Everest. It is so massive that it has even partially sunk back into the interior of the planet.
A bold hypothesis about a volcano, hidden by powerful erosion
At the 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in mid-March in The Woodlands, Texas, two scientists from to the SETI Institute Pascal Lee and Sourabh Shubham presented their supposed discovery of a giant volcano, also related to a possible glacier buried under the adjacent volcanic mantle.
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Both are located in the eastern part of the Tharsis Volcanic Province on Mars, which is home to three other known giant volcanoes: Ascraeus Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Arsia Mons, south of the planet’s equator.
The area of this giant volcano has been repeatedly photographed by space probes flying in orbit around Mars, since the time of the first Mars satellite, which became the American probe Mariner 9 in 1971.
However, the volcano was so deeply eroded or disturbed by faulting, the action of magma, water and ice that it was difficult to recognize – it lacks the classic and continuous conical shape. Here, long-term combined erosion has created a disordered landscape with several raised mesas – with “lava sandwiches”, hydrated mineral deposits and pyroclastic layers, composed of volcanic particles, also with water ice. All of this is cut through by a network of valleys and collapsed areas.
photo.php?fbid=717695233862606&set=p.717695233862606&type=3" class="fb-xfbml-parse-ignore">Posted by Astronomy Nation on Thursday, March 14, 2024
For decades, this volcano has literally hid in plain sight in one of the most iconic regions of Mars, on the border between the highly fractured maze of water-eroded caves and tunnels named Noctis Labyrinthus (Labyrinth of the Night) and the monumental canyons of the Valles Marineris system.
It could have been active for up to billions of years
This structure has so far been tentatively designated as “Noctis Mons”. It reaches a height of 9,022 meters (so it is higher than Mt. Everest) and a width of approximately 450 km, writes the magazine, among other things National Geographic. The presumed volcano’s enormous size and long and complex history of changes suggest that it has been active for a very long time, perhaps billions of years.
In its southeastern part, there is a fairly recent and thin volcanic deposit, under which there is probably still a glacier. This combination of a giant volcano, magmatism and possible glacial activity is unique, it will probably be an important place for studying the geological development of Mars and searching for traces of microbial life on this planet.
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The volcanic architecture of the Noctis volcano has been strongly and long-term eroded by the influence of water and the movement of glaciers, which, according to both discoverers, is the reason why it has been overlooked until now.
Scientists had to use and combine data from a number of satellites orbiting Mars to reveal the hidden structure. These included altitude data from the American satellite Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), detailed images from another American satellite Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and other special images taken by the European satellite Mars Express. Older data from the Mariner 9, Viking Orbiter 1 and 2 and Mars Odyssey satellites were also not overlooked.
Complex structure of the area
Scientists have thus put together several clues that, according to them, reveal the volcanic origin of these formations. The elevated mesas form a curved ridge that slopes slightly outward from the central peak.
The remnant of a caldera — a collapsed volcanic crater that was once filled with lava — is also visible near the center of the structure, they said. In addition, lava flows, volcanic ash deposits, pumice, and clusters of hydrated minerals are scattered throughout the structure.
While some of these volcanic deposits have been discovered before, the interplay of all the evidence leading to the discovery of a huge, long-lost volcano surprised the two scientists. In addition, the arc of the high points of the structure reaches a height of 9,000 meters, and the structure gradually slopes, which in general corresponds to a kind of “standard” of a Martian volcano.
But it’s possible that the newly discovered eroded “dome” could have been created by other mechanisms, such as uplift caused by a magma flow deep below the area, says Alexis Rodriguez (NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center), who new study did not participate. However, Lee says that after all the evidence is gathered, the giant volcano scenario is very promising. The researchers are already writing a paper detailing their findings.
The study also revealed a large 5,000 square kilometer area of volcanic deposits surrounding Noctis Mons. This area is dominated by numerous, low and rounded mounds resembling blisters, referred to as rootless cones.
They are thought to have formed where hot volcanic material hit the surface of ice- or water-rich soil, causing explosive bursts of steam to disrupt the surface.
This discovery is connected to the previous discovery of a nearby deposit of sulfates and salts, which has shapes and features reminiscent of a glacier. Lee and his collaborator, graduate student Sourabh Shubham (University of Maryland, College Park), believe that this glacial feature formed when a layer of volcanic ash fell on top of the glacier. The ash reacted with the acidic water and turned into the salty mineral jarosite, which formed deposits that mimicked the shapes of the glacier below—like gypsum in a mold. Later, an erosive process removed the upper layers of ash, revealing glacier-like layers of salt.
“The ice is probably still there, but it’s protected by a layer of salts,” Lee noted.
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Similarly, scientists believe that the giant volcano Noctis Mons was “built” as a layer cake, alternating deposits of ice and volcanic material. This is evidenced by the slopes of the table mountains, as salt deposits alternate with layers of volcanic material and solidified lava flows. Taken together, the eroded volcano and associated strata suggest that the volcanic cap in this vast area may be hiding the remnants of a glacier beneath its surface.
“The discovery of this interaction between buried glaciers and magmatic material is very positive and is linked to topics such as the conditions for (primitive) life and the likelihood of finding biosignatures,” Rodriguez said. “If this is indeed true, it would be a very important discovery.”
The doubts of a number of scientists still persist
However, not all scientists at this time agree that a “nest” volcano has indeed been discovered in the Noctis Labyrinthus area. The work of experts from the SETI Institute has not yet passed the peer review process, but their presentation at the mentioned conference attracted the attention of many experts.
“Both researchers make an interesting case, but it’s not entirely convincing,” said Rosaly Lopes, a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who was not involved in the new work. “The area is heavily eroded. We are not sure yet.’
But at the same time, she added, “I think most of us still think it’s an interesting idea and deserves further study.”
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Lee and Shubham used the entire set of maps produced by orbiting Mars missions over the past half century. They focused on a field of sediments apparently created by explosive volcanic activity, which was probably also exposed to glacial action. They wondered where this volcanic material could have come from and found a possible source nearby: in the eastern part of Noctis Labyrinthus. Here they saw a feature that looks like an old eroded volcano, with a cauldron-like pit at its partially collapsed summit. Additionally “decorated” with ancient lava flows, volcanic ash blankets and mineral stains created by magmatically heated flowing water. Based on the advanced extent of erosion, the layering of the ejected material and the comparison of its faults with the Noctis Labyrinthus area (whose formation time is known), they assume that the volcano was formed here more than 3.7 billion years ago, and has erupted occasionally since then, most recently perhaps “only “10 million years.
“We’re looking at a volcano whose activity spans perhaps most of the geologic history of Mars,” Lee said. And the presence of a long-term heat source in an area “decorated” by glaciers suggests that this may be an exciting area for future close-up exploration, both by robots and humans. The area of former warm lakes can hide signs of ancient microbial life.
Despite Lee’s confidence, however, many other experts are still not convinced. Formations now identified as deposits originating from eruptions or volcanic reliefs may not be unequivocally of volcanic origin.
“All of that is not enough to convince me that this is a volcano,” said planetary volcanologist Tracy Gregg of the University at Buffalo. “Perhaps an impact crater that was later covered by other material and eroded could look similar.”
So even more evidence is needed to confirm that this is indeed the discovery of another interesting volcano on the red planet.
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