Marsquakes: The Red Planet Trembles

Mars is experiencing its largest marsquakes to date, according to an international team of researchers who provided an update on December 14, 2022. The largest marsquake so far was a magnitude 4.7 quake that occurred on May 4, 2022, and was five times larger than the previous record-holder. The quake is evidence that Mars is not entirely geologically dead and could provide valuable insights into the planet's interior structure.

The researchers presented their findings at the American Geophysical Union meeting in Chicago and published three papers in Geophysical Research Letters on December 14. The Mars Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) data service, NASA Planetary Data System (PDS), and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) and the MQS catalog released data from the marsquake in early October. InSight, a NASA lander on Mars, uses its SEIS instrument to monitor for marsquakes.

Measuring marsquakes can provide valuable insights into the interior structure of Mars, and the detection of this largest marsquake allowed researchers to detect body waves and surface waves with their overtones for the first time. The surface waves produced by the quake lasted for more than 10 hours, while all previous marsquakes lasted for less than an hour. The epicenter of the quake was located just outside of the seismically active region known as Cerberus Fossae, but researchers were unable to specifically connect the quake to any known geologic feature.

The detection of this marsquake is an exciting development for scientists studying Mars, and further analysis of the data collected could provide valuable insights into the planet's geology and interior structure. It is also worth noting that Mars is not the only planet in our solar system that experiences quakes – both Venus and Earth's moon also experience seismic activity.

On Earth, earthquakes are caused by the movement of tectonic plates, but the cause of marsquakes is not fully understood. Some researchers believe that they may be caused by the cooling and contracting of the planet's interior, while others think they may be the result of underground volcanism.

The study of marsquakes could provide valuable insights into the history and evolution of Mars, as well as help scientists understand the processes that shape the planet's surface. It could also help researchers determine the composition of Mars' interior and the thickness of its crust, which could have implications for the possibility of finding water on the planet.

Despite being a small planet compared to Earth, Mars has a complex and varied geology, with features such as volcanoes, canyons, and plains. It also has a thin atmosphere and experiences extreme temperature fluctuations, making it a challenging place for any spacecraft to operate. However, NASA's InSight lander has been successfully studying Mars' subsurface and interior since it landed on November 26, 2018, and has provided valuable insights into the red planet's geology and climate.

The detection of the largest marsquake so far is an exciting development in our understanding of Mars, and further study of the data collected could provide valuable insights into the planet's geology and interior structure. It is also a reminder that Mars, like Earth and other planets in our solar system, is a dynamic and constantly changing world.

“Biggest Marsquake Detected Is Record-Breaker.” EarthSky, 20 Dec. 2022, https://earthsky.org/space/marsquake-mars-insight-lander/.