Stretch of molten rock discovered under the surface of Mars could signal there ... trends now
A massive column of molten rock that spans 2,5000 miles wide discovered below the northern plains on Mars could contain the ingredients for 'alien bugs' to thrive underground.
Monday's announcement comes from scientists from the Lunar & Planetary Laboratory at The University of Arizona, who suggest the rocks generate methane and hydrogen that could be used by present-day microbial life as energy.
The team notes that microbes on Earth flourish in similar environments and believe it could be the same on Mars.
Along with being a refuge for life, the molten rock also explains why the marsquakes are detected near this region known as Cerberus Fossae, which is home to the Elysium Planitia volcanic complex.
Below the Cerberus Fossae system (pictured) is a column of molten rock that spans 2,5000 miles wide. Scientists believe this creates a perfect environment for microbial life
Mars is viewed as a cold, barren wasteland that has been 'dead' for billions of years, but the new research provides more evidence that the Martian world is 'very much alive,' SWS reports.
Quakes and volcanic eruptions are happening below the quiet, deceptive surface.
'Our results demonstrate that the interior of Mars is geodynamically active today,' write planetary geophysicists Adrien Broquet and Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna of the University of Arizona, 'and imply that volcanism has been driven by mantle plumes from the formation of the Hesperian volcanic provinces and Tharsis is the past to Elysium Planitia today.'
For how life could be thriving underground, the team said the studied region experienced floods of liquid water in its recent geologic past, though the cause has remained a mystery.
'The same heat from the plume fueling ongoing volcanic and seismic activity could also melt ice to make the floods—and drive chemical reactions that could sustain life deep underground,' Andrews-Hanna said
The Cerberus Fossae is a fissures system home to the Elysium Planitia volcanic complex. The new study also determined the Elysium Planitia is where many of the quakes on Mars come from
Artist's impression of an active mantle plume—a large blob of warm and buoyant rock—rising from deep inside Mars and pushing up Elysium Planitia, a plain within the planet's northern lowlands
'Microbes on Earth flourish in environments like this, and that could be true on Mars, as well,' Andrews-Hanna said, adding that the discovery goes beyond explaining the enigmatic seismic activity and resurgence in volcanic activity.'
The team combined orbital observations and geophysical computer models of the fissure system - Cerberus Fossae - which reveal evidence of volcanic surface deposits as young as 5,000 years old.
The Elysium Mons volcanic complex, which sits within the 800-mile stretch of Cerberus Fossae, harbors molten lava and causes marsquakes to hit the planet.
'Our study presents multiple lines of evidence that reveal the presence of a giant active mantle plume on present-day Mars,' Broquet said.
The team used data from NASA's Insight rover, which first landed on Mars in 2018 and has identified a trove of marsquakes within the Martian surface.
The Insight team recently determined that nearly all marsquakes emanate from this region,
