Researchers at the University of Oxford have found evidence that Mars may once have contained enormous Earth-like magmatic systems deep below its surface, even though the planet does not have the plate tectonics that scientists have long associated with this level of geological complexity. The findings, published in Nature Astronomy, point to new possibilities for how rocky planets can evolve in ways that may support habitability.
Mars is commonly classified as a "stagnant lid" planet because, unlike Earth, its outer shell is not divided into moving tectonic plates. On Earth, plate tectonics plays a major role in volcanism, recycling crustal material and helping build continents. Because Mars lacks this process, scientists have often assumed that its crust formed in a much simpler way.
The new study challenges that assumption. The results suggest that Mars may have developed highly evolved crust through vigorous recycling within the planet itself, without the need for Earth-style plate tectonics.
A Mysterious Boundary 24 Kilometers Down
The researchers analyzed seismic data collected by NASA's InSight mission, focusing on waves generated by meteoroid impacts and marsquakes, the Martian equivalent of earthquakes.
