Olympus Mons Active?

Void · 2017-02-14 22:14:16

I have found other articles which indicate evidence of volcanic eruptions within the last 2 Million years, but no other than this one which claims a Lava Bomb from Mars, likely Olympus Mons was found in Antarctica. I am thinking that this article might very likely be bogus, but still it exists.

https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/mars/o … ivity.html

If it was real why wouldn't we hear more about it? Is this "Fake News", and why would someone do it?

Last edited by Void (2017-02-14 22:15:56)

RobertDyck · 2017-02-15 00:21:19

There are people posting "fake news" just to get you to click on the news article. The reason is they get paid by advertisers. Google AdSense pays per click on the advertisement. Is there advertising that pays per view?

However, also remember the floating pack ice in Elysium Plantia. It's believed have formed when Cerberus Fossae fissures erupted, melting permafrost in the dried-up ocean floor. That melt water pooled in a low area, then froze. Cerberus Fossae erupted 2 million years ago. There's also a couple major volcanoes: Elysium Mons and Albor Tholus. But they believed the fissures (cracks in the ground) erupted about the time your article talks about.

Void · 2017-02-15 11:39:50

We will have to see.

I am beginning to get the information that Mars may have had tectonics, but then the plates locked up. Therefore a method to vent thermal energy was blocked, so maybe massive volcanism is amplified by this fact, for Mars.

It will be an interesting factor to work with if it turns out to be true.

That could be an interesting factor. Could Martian eruptions be so intense that they might blow atmosphere off of Mars? Something like an educator?

If so, could the process be modified in some way to retain more of the atmosphere, and ideally the erupted gasses?

Last edited by Void (2017-02-15 11:43:35)

RobertDyck · 2017-02-15 12:48:04

My understanding is geologists debate whether Mars ever had plate tectonics. If it did, the plates locked up a long time ago. Olympus Mons and the other volcanoes in the Tharsis region did not move, no plate tectonics when they were formed. Hawaii formed by a hot spot in Earth's mantle. But as the Pacific plate moved north-west, the island moved off the hot-spot. So a new island formed, in the spot of the plate that was now above the hot-spot. This produced the chain of islands. Once an island stopped growing, waves started to erode it down. But that didn't happen on Mars. So Olympus Mons just erupted, and erupted, and erupted. All the lava accumulated making it the largest volcano in our solar system. But the fact Cerberus Fossae erupted just 2 million years ago (or is believed to) implies Mars is still geologically active. That means we might be able to use geothermal heat. And for terraforming, web might be able to use magnetic fields to manipulate the planet's core to create a planetary magnetic field. I have argued that should be more effective than trying to generate a magnetic field directly. Because it could use the energy of thermal convection currents in the core.

Another interesting thing is Hellas Basin is on the exact opposite side of the planet from Tharsis. Did an asteroid impact Mars creating Hellas, and cause shock waves within the planet so strong that they erupted as volcanoes? That would have been one incredible event! Was that what blew off the atmosphere of Mars? Or at least start the process? The outskirts of Olympus Mons appears to have a sharp escarpment, as if that formed as lava poured into ocean water. Or perhaps eroded by ocean waves. Either way, it implies Olympus Mons formed when the ocean was still there. But did the impact start a series of events that caused Mars to freeze? Or was that separate?

Void · 2017-02-15 13:47:57

Yes, I think I will see this your way.

elderflower · 2017-02-15 16:17:27

The other possibility, Robert, is that the cliff around Olympus Mons is a ring fracture and the entire mountain has been uplifted by emplacement of magma underneath it. In this scenario there may be another very large eruption on the way and the mountain will sink back into the crust as the magma is erupted. then it may look like Alba Mons.
I have seen articles about the antipodal impact/large earthquake hypothesis relating to Earth. Evidence is not conclusive, but it is very interesting.

GW Johnson · 2017-03-06 10:36:49

A question: do they think Mars has liquid iron in its core still, or is it all solid?

The theory about Earth's magnetic field is its generation by persistent fluid currents in the still-liquid part of Earth's core. If Mars's is all-solid, and if that theory is correct, then we have a believable explanation for Mars's lack of a planetary magnetic field, when it once did (pointed to by remnant magnetization of local rocks).

The other theory posits solar wind sweeping away atmospheres when there is no planetary magnetic field to deflect it. This event on Mars (if these theories are correct) would require reconciling an early core solidification date (some 3 billion years ago) with what we believe is an early atmosphere loss (starting some 3 billion years ago, if the surface dating is at all correct). I'm not at all sure all this fits into a coherent picture yet.

GW

Last edited by GW Johnson (2017-03-06 10:39:12)

RobertDyck · 2017-03-06 13:03:33

Whether the core is liquid or not is hotly debated. I attended the 36th Lunar and Planetary Space Sciences Conference in 2005. Lots of really interesting presentations. Primary investigators presented their findings: NASA, ESA, Russian Space Agency. One presentation was whether the core of Mars is still liquid. Scientists with Ph.D.s yelled at each other and called each other idiots. It looked like an episode of "The Big Bang Theory". I conclude from this display that there isn't enough evidence yet to come to a clear conclusion. NASA's "InSight" probe will put a thumper on Mars with seismic sensors. It should answer the question.

The book "Rare Earth" posits that our Moon is critical for life on Earth. The theory goes that gravity of the Moon causes tides on Earth. Not just tides in oceans, but tides in the solid material of the crust. The crust moves slowly, so the bulge is slightly delayed, the largest part of the bulge is slightly past a direct line between Earth's core and the Moon. Gravity from the Moon tugs on this bulge, slowing rotation of the Earth. All this has been verified, long before the author wrote this book. However, the author goes not to posit that this slows rotation of the crust, not the solid inner core. The liquid outer core acts as a fluid bearing, the crust is slowed by the Moon's gravity, and the mantle is directly connected, but the inner core is not. Friction will gradually cause the inner core to slow as well, but since the Moon's gravity is continually slowing Earth's crust, the core will never "catch up". This difference in the rotation of Earth's inner core vs the rest of the planet causes the liquid outer core to move liquid a fluid bearing. That flow is completely different than convection cells. But the inner core is not, causing convection. Normally convection cells counter rotate, and any magnetic field caused by fluid rotation of liquid iron will cancel out. However, the conflict between fluid bearing vs convection will cause the convection cells to move in the same direction. This creates the dynamo that creates Earth's magnetic field.

If that theory is correct, then Mars does not have a single large Moon. It could have had differential spin caused by a major impact, such as the impact that created Hellas Basin. But once Mars inner core rotates at the same rate as the rest of the planet, then the liquid outer core will form counter-rotating convection cells. At that point, the magnetic field stops. So Mars could have a liquid core and not magnetic field.

Last edited by RobertDyck (2017-03-07 13:23:41)

elderflower · 2017-03-07 04:31:32

It isn't clear whether Mars has liquid metal between its core and its crust. I would guess probably not. This wouldn't mean an end to volcanism, though. Mars, like Earth, must still have large amounts of long lived radioisotopes which will keep its interior very hot for a long time to come.

Mars_B4_Moon · 2022-01-05 14:10:24

UCLA Scientist Discovers Plate Tectonics On Mars
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/uc … 37303.aspx
"For years, many scientists had thought that plate tectonics existed nowhere in our solar system but on Earth. Now, a UCLA scientist has discovered that the geological phenomenon, which involves the movement of huge crustal plates beneath a planet's surface, also exists on Mars. 'Mars is at a primitive stage of plate tectonics. It gives us a glimpse of how the early Earth may have looked and may help us understand how plate tectonics began on Earth,' said An Yin, a UCLA professor of Earth and space sciences and the sole author of the new research."

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#1 2017-02-14 22:14:16

Olympus Mons Active?

#2 2017-02-15 00:21:19

Re: Olympus Mons Active?

#3 2017-02-15 11:39:50

Re: Olympus Mons Active?

#4 2017-02-15 12:48:04

Re: Olympus Mons Active?

#5 2017-02-15 13:47:57

Re: Olympus Mons Active?

#6 2017-02-15 16:17:27

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#7 2017-03-06 10:36:49

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#8 2017-03-06 13:03:33

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#9 2017-03-07 04:31:32

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#10 2022-01-05 14:10:24

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