NASA Confirms Volcanic Eruption in Mars

Researchers found evidence of calderas that originated from massive Volcanic that blasted the equivalent of 400 million Olympic-size swimming pools of molten rock and gas. The research was published in Geophysical Research Letters.

The planet was dominated by vast craters and massive ridges extending on the surface that was once highly active. Researchers have found evidence that a region of northern Mars called Arabia Terra witnessed the biggest Volcanic eruptions over a 500 million year period. These Volcanic eruptions were so powerful that they extended up into the air blocking sunlight changing the fate of the Red Planet forever. The study researched the topography and mineral composition in the northern part of the planet to deduce that it was home to the most violent Volcanic explosions.

The research states that explosive calderas do exist in western Arabia Terra, and they produced thousands of super-eruptions spread out over 500 million years of ancient Mars history. Patrick Whelley, who led the research team and geologist said that each one of the explosive calderas would have had a significant climate impact. Maybe they released gas, made the atmosphere thicker or blocked the Sun and made the atmosphere colder.

The Volcanic on Earth are spread out and researchers noticed that the characteristics of volcanoes stumbled at a single place on Mars. Researchers believe that super-eruptive volcanoes were concentrated in regions on Earth but have been eroded physically and chemically or moved around the globe as continents shifted due to plate tectonics.