There has been evidence that volcanism on Mars continued until about three million years ago. And a new paper published in Icarus provides evidence that there was volcanic activity as recently as 50,000 years ago, which is the blink of an eye, geologically speaking.

Researchers discovered a previously unknown volcanic deposit in the satellite imagery from various satellites. The eruption produced a fissure that is twenty miles long and eight miles wide, and it’s surrounded by a dark deposit. Further analysis of the properties of the material shows that the eruption likely was similar to a pyroclastic eruption here on Earth: explosive and driven by expanding gases. Think of how a shaken can of soda fountains abruptly when you pop the top.

It’s also possible that the cause of this eruption might be related to the marsquakes being detected by NASA’s Insight lander. We’ve reported before on how the lander’s seismometer detected several large quakes in the Cerberus Fossae region, and that is the same region where this fissure was found. Lead author David Horvath from our own Planetary Science Institute noted: The young age of this deposit absolutely raises the possibility that there could still be volcanic activity on Mars, and it is intriguing that recent Marsquakes detected by the InSight mission are sourced from the Cerberus Fossae.

Magma could still be moving underground, y’all. On Mars. I can’t wait to learn more.

More Information

PSI press release

University of Arizona press release

“Evidence for geologically recent explosive volcanism in Elysium Planitia, Mars,” David G. Horvath et al., 2021 April 21, Icarus