As far as we can tell , there is no longer any volcanic activity on Mars , but there are plenty of tell - tale signs show up that it once happened . One recent work , for example , revealed thatMars was tipped overby as much as 20 ° by a profuse period of volcanism that forced much of its deep mantle up onto the crust .
Now , the brave Curiosity scouter has do to detect the bearing of tridymite within the Gale Crater , suggest at the presence of powerful , explosive volcanism on the ancient Martian surface . Writing in theProceedings of the National Academy of Science , the research team led by both NASA and the California Institute of Technology involve that the ancient history of Mars needs to be partly rewrite thanks to this discovery .
“ It ’s really smashing , but we were shocked , ” Richard Morris , the NASA scientist who led the cogitation , toldCBC News . “ Something is going on on Mars that we do n’t to the full value . ”
Ancient volcanism on Mars is generally regard to have been mostly gushing , unagitated , and prolonged , which tend to formshield volcanoes , like Olympus Mons . Thanks to Mars ’ scurvy atmospherical pressure sensation , it ’s likely that any fire fountaining out of one would have reached considerable heights liken to their terrestrial equivalents , but this does n’t count as explosive volcanism .
For volcanism to be delineate as “ volatile , ” the magma must be thick , gloopy ( “ gummy ” ) , and full of throttle . These two trait , mostly speaking , will produce cracking depressurization event when the eruptions occur , and will thereby produce more wild and sometimes cataclysmic eruptions . More sticky magma is typically assort with stratovolcanoes on Earth , such as Mount Fuji orMount St. Helens .
In plus , plate tectonics are require to develop volcanic eruptions that are conventionally explosive ; without this mechanism , pasty , silica - rich magma – the type that may boast mineral like tridymite – can not form , and many geologist still consider Mars to have never experienced it .
ikon in text : A common soma of tridymite , from the Eifel neighborhood of Germany . Fred Kruijen / Wikimedia Commons ; CC BY - SA 3.0 nl
So not only is the presence of tridymite a certain sign of the zodiac that true explosive volcanism has occurred on Mars in the past , but it also indicate thatplate tectonics were in fact lock here . However , without any generator vent or volcano yet located , researchers are unable to say where it ’s come from . The mineral sample found within the Gale Crater were in all likelihood carried there by ancient H2O rate of flow , so it ’s probable that the source volcano is a long means away from the site .
This is n’t the first prison term evidence for volatile volcanic action has been witness on Mars . Just this April , a team work with the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ( MRO ) discovered patches of atomic number 26 oxides and sulphate on the open that indicated that there was onceexplosive magma - chicken feed interactionson the Red Planet .
Althoughnot in full understood , middleman between magma and piss or ice can sometimes cause massive burst , but only if they merge in a turbulent style . They do not require mucilaginous , silica - rich magma to occur though ; as seen at Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland in 2010 , very fluid , high - temperature basaltic lava emerge from a fissure was mix with overlying frozen ice , which generated tremendous , free burning ash column .
Gale Crater , where Curiosity is presently exploring . NASA / JPL - Caltech / ESA / DLR / FU Berlin / MSSS
So in the typeface of Mars ’ magma - ice explosions , no silica - fertile magma was involve – any magma works here . As for Curiosity ’s tridymite , though , geologic wisdom hint that not only is a tall stratovolcano required , but so is a semblance of plate tectonics .
This lend this study to a remarkable finale : Either the ancient geologic activity of Mars has been severely underestimate , or this finical mineral can be shape in another , as - of - yet unknown mode . allow ’s hope it ’s the former , because if it is , then this little robot has just made a groundbreaking discovery .
