Giant Mysteries Unveiled: Enormous Structures Found on Mars

Large, thick formations have been found underneath the surface. Mars And this has left specialists feeling puzzled yet thrilled.

The initial discovery, verified by scientists in an intriguing study, is a massive underground structure spanning approximately 1,750 kilometers (over 1,000 miles) wide, located at a depth of 1,100 kilometers (684 miles).

The enigmatic anomaly hides below Tharsis Montes – an extensive area. volcanic area that contains the biggest volcano in our solar system: Olympus Mons.

The discoveries are so substantial that they might question a basic principle. geology and change our perspective on the Red Planet's future.

"The researchers noted what appears to be a large body (something lightweight) deep within Mars’ layers, potentially originating from the mantle," they stated in their report. their study , which appears in the journal JGR: Planets .

This indicates that Mars could still be experiencing internal activity, resulting in the formation of new volcanoes on its surface.

Even with continuous examination, it’s still uncertain just how volcanically active Mars currently is. Although there aren’t any presently active volcanic structures observed on the surface, the Tharsis area underwent significant resurfacing relatively recently—within the span of the last several million years at most. Universe Today notes.

Led by Bart Root from the Delft University of Technology, the research team believes that this massive formation might actually be a mantle plume elevating beneath Tharsis Montes.

"The researchers indicate in their study that a plume head is presently moving upwards toward the lithosphere, which will likely result in active volcanic activity in the geologic future," they state in their paper.

To put it differently, should this mantle plume ultimately make its way to the Martian surface, it might result in potential volcanic displays in the times ahead.

Moreover, the significant elevation of Tharsis Montes compared to the rest of Mars' terrain indicates that this massive weight is lifting it higher.

This contradicts the broadly accepted geological principle called flexural isostasy, which posits that whenever a massive weight presses down on the lithosphere (the rigid, outer shell of Earth), it reacts by dipping downward.

The authors emphasize that this implies we must reconsider our understanding of the support systems for the large volcano and its surrounding areas.

Furthermore, the group discovered additional gravitational oddities, such as mysterious heavy formations beneath Mars’ northern polar regions.

These peculiar shapes are concealed beneath a dense, even layer of sediment that probably settled on an old ocean floor. They are roughly 300 to 400 kg/m³ more compact compared to their environment, as indicated. Universe Today .

In relation to this, our Moon also experiences certain gravitational irregularities, which are linked to massive impact craters.

Researchers think that the objects responsible for forming these large craters had higher density compared to the Moon itself. As a result, when they collided with the lunar surface, their mass was incorporated into the Moon.

However, there are no noticeable signs of Mars’s recently-found gravitational irregularities evident on the planet’s surface.

Regarding these extreme discoveries, Dr Root stated in a press release: "These massive formations might have originated from volcanoes or could be materials compressed by old collisions."

There are approximately 20 features of different sizes that we've spotted scattered across the region near the north polar cap – one of these looks like the outline of a dog.

He intriguingly noted, "They appear absent from the surface. Nonetheless, gravity data offers us an enticing peek into the ancient past of Mars' northern hemisphere."

Still, Root and his colleagues concede that in order to truly get to the bottom of these mysterious structures, they need more data. And to gather this data, they’ll need to embark upon a new mission.

This proposed mission is now known as the Martian Quantum Gravity (MaQuls), and would be based on the same technology used in previous missions which mapped the Moon's and Earth's gravity, respectively.

"Using MaQuIS for observations could help us delve deeper into Mars' subterranean regions," stated Dr Lisa Wörner from the German Aerospace Center (DLR) at the Europlanet Science Congress 2024.

This could enable us to uncover additional details regarding these enigmatic concealed characteristics and examine continuous mantle circulation, along with deciphering active surface phenomena such as yearly atmospheric alterations and the identification of subsurface water reserves.

The article was initially published on September 16, 2024.

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