AccuWeather.com

Evidence for Marsquakes

Feb 22, 2012; 2:10 PM ET

Recent evidence shows that Mars' surface has experienced seismic activity, and not that long ago.

Using High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) imagery, scientists examined boulders on the Cerberus Fossae fault, which is found on a relatively young (few million years old) lava surface on Mars. The images show that when boulders toppled off a Martian cliff some left trails in the coarse-grained soil. These patterns suggest that these rocks fell because of "marsquakes." The patterns on the ground did not indicate boulders being scattered about as ice melted, which is a common on the Red planet.

Because Martian winds had not yet erased the boulder tracks, the theory is that the tracks must be rather young or that the tracks are somehow protected from the Martian wind.

The existence of marsquakes could signify hope for those who think that there is life on Mars. Active faults in the Cerberus Fossae region suggests that maybe there is magma underneath the nearby volcano, Elysium Mons. If that is the case, heat from the magma could melt the ice below the surface. The resulting liquid water could provide a friendly environment needed for life as we know it.

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