Most of the volcanic and tectonic activity of Mars occurred during his first 1.5 billion years, but is now valued as geodynamically inert. However, a new study has identified what is considered a active mantle plume.
The study published by Nature and led by the University of Arizona (United States) suggests that said mantle plume, of about 4,000 kilometers in diameter would be under the Elysium Planitiain the north of the planet, which pushes the crust up and brings hot magma to the surface.
That plume could explain the low but constant seismic activity, recently detected by NASA’s InSight lander that has been on Mars since 2018 and explores an area called Cerberus Fossae. It is precisely in that region where the most recent volcano on the planet was 53,000 years and the authors estimate that the center of the feather is also there.
The team led by Adrien Broquet and Jeffrey Andrews-Hanna analyzed the topography, gravity, and geology of the Elysium Planitia region. Through the use of geophysical modelling, they found evidence that the entire area sits on top of a mantle plume of hot material between 95 and 285 kelvins, hotter than its surroundings.
As on Earth, the presence of an active plume drives sustained local geologic activity, including the marsquakes detected by InSight, and is the cause of the slow opening of the crust under the Cerberus trenches. These findings could indicate that Mars is the third body in the inner solar system, after Earth and Venus, with currently active mantle plumes.
Source: Lasexta
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