The newly discovered volcano, tentatively designated Noctis Mons, is located in the eastern part of Mars, just south of the equator. noctis labyrinthwest of Valles Marineris, the planet's vast canyon system.
Mount Noctis reaches an altitude of 9,022 m (29,600 ft) and is 450 km (280 miles) wide.
Its enormous size and complex modification history indicate that it has been active for a very long time.
To its southeast are thin recent volcanic deposits, beneath which glaciers may still exist.
The combined potential of this giant volcanic and glacial ice discovery is an exciting prospect for studying Mars' geological evolution over time, searching for life, and exploring it in the future using robots and humans. important because it marks a new location.
“While investigating the geology of the area where glacier debris was discovered last year, we found ourselves inside a huge, deeply eroded volcano,” said the SETI Institute and Mars Planetary Scientists. Dr. Pascal Lee said. Laboratory based at NASA Ames Research Center.
Taken together, several clues reveal the volcanic nature of this eastern portion of the Noctis Labyrinth, a jumble of layered mesas and canyons.
The central summit area is characterized by several raised mesas forming an arc, reaching the highest regional heights and descending away from the summit area.
The outer, gentle slopes extend 225 km (140 miles) away in various directions.
The remains of a caldera, a collapsed volcanic crater that once contained a lava lake, can be seen near the center of the structure.
Lava flows, pyroclastic flow deposits (consisting of volcanic particulate material such as ash, cinders, pumice, and tephra), and hydrated mineral deposits occur in several areas around the structure.
“This region of Mars is known to contain a wide variety of hydrated minerals spanning Mars' long history,” says Saurabh Shubham, a graduate student at the University of Maryland.
“These minerals have long been suspected of being in a volcanic environment. So finding a volcano here may not be all that surprising.”
“In a way, this big volcano is the clincher that has been long awaited.”
Topographic map of Noctis Mons. Image credit: Lee other.
In addition to the volcano, the authors found 5,000 km2 (1930 square miles) of volcanic deposits surrounding the volcano, including numerous low, round, elongated, blister-like hills.
This blistered landform is formed by an area of ​​rootless cone, i.e., when a thin blanket of hot volcanic material comes to rest on a water- or ice-rich surface, caused by explosive steam ejection or steam expansion. It is interpreted as a generated hill.
Mount Noctis has a long and complex history of modification, likely through a combination of destruction, thermal erosion, and glacial erosion.
“In fact, it's the combination of factors that makes the Noctis volcanic site so exciting,” Dr. Lee said.
“This volcano is an ancient, long-lived volcano, and it's so deeply eroded that it's hard to hike, drive through, or fly to examine different parts of the volcano's interior, take samples, and date it. “We can study the evolution of Mars over time.”
“It also has a long history of heat interacting with water and ice, making it a prime location for astrobiology and the search for signs of life.”
“Finally, glaciers are likely still preserved near the surface in Mars' relatively warm equatorial regions, making this site a very attractive location for robotic and human exploration.”
The researchers announced that their discoveries Today is 55th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference Located in The Woodlands, Texas, USA.
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Pascal Lee other. Massive eroded volcanic complex and buried glacial ice in the eastern Noctis Labyrinth: evidence of recent volcanic activity and glaciation near the Martian equator. LPSC 2024Abstract #2745
Source: www.sci.news
