Scientists at the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory have discovered a fissure on the surface of Mars that could possibly indicate volcanic activity as recently as 50,000 years ago, which means that warm magma might be flowing beneath the surface. The most recent eruption occurred in a flat region known as Elysium Planitia and suggests Mars is not as geologically dormant as once thought.
This smooth, dark area that the researchers studied stretches for 8 miles and is surrounded by a 20-mile-long volcanic fissure in the Cerberus Fossae system of faults where the Martian crust has pulled apart. Unfortunately, both of the NASA rovers are not nearly close enough to investigate this feature.
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This may be the youngest volcanic deposit yet documented on Mars. If we were to compress Mars’ geologic history into a single day, this would have occurred in the very last second,” said lead study author David Horvath, a research scientist at the Planetary Science Institute.
