Volcanic eruptions change the face of Mars

The mountain half of the giant Tharsis on Mars is the author that makes the red planet's surface rotate with a billion tons of lava.

According to Science Daily, the surface of Mars has experienced a major tilting process 3 - 3.5 billion years ago. The reason is not because the planet's rotating axis changes but because the outer layer (mantle and crust) rotates around the inner core. Scientists have mentioned this hypothesis before but have not been able to prove it.

In the study published on March 2 in the journal Nature, the giant Tharsis volcanic dome is the cause of tilting the surface of Mars . It formed more than 3.7 billion years ago at 20 degrees north latitude.

The surface of Mars was tilted at an angle of about 20 degrees 3 to 3.5 billion years ago.(Photo: University of Paris-Sud).

Tharsis volcano erupted continuously for several hundred million years, forming a plateau with a diameter of over 5,000 km, a thickness of 12 km. The volume of lava erupting from the mountain amounted to one billion tons (equal to 1/70 of the mass of the Moon). This mass is so large that Mars's mantle and mantle revolve around the core. Tharsis volcano moved towards the equator, corresponding to the new equilibrium position. Before the above-mentioned process, Mars's poles were not in today's position.

Researchers Sylvain Bouley of the University of Paris-Sud and David Baratoux at Toulouse III University - Paul Sabatier, France, showed for the first time that rivers originating in the southernmost part of Mars are moving about 20 degrees. compared to the current position.

The study completely changed the concept of the volcano Tharsis formed more than 3.7 billion years ago, appearing in front of rivers and controlling their flow. According to the team's calculations, before and after the Tharsis volcano appeared, most rivers flow from the southern highlands of the hemisphere to the low plains in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, rivers may appear at the same time as Tharsis volcano.

The pre-tilting Martian topography is also used to study the planet's original climate. At that time, Mars had a cold climate and a dense atmosphere, ice accumulated at about 25 degrees south latitude, in the current dry riverbeds.