T he Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission landed on Mars on 26 November 2018 in Elysium Planitia 1,2 , 38 years after the end of Viking 2 lander operations. At the time, Viking's seismometer 3 did not succeed in making any convincing Marsquake detections, due to its on-deck installation and high wind sensitivity. InSight therefore provides the first direct geophysical in situ investigations of Mars's interior structure by seismology 1,4. The Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) 5 monitors the ground acceleration with six axes: three Very Broad Band (VBB) oblique axes, sensitive to frequencies from tidal up to 10 Hz, and one vertical and two horizontal Short Period (SP) axes, covering frequencies from ~0.1 Hz to 50 Hz. SEIS is complemented by the APSS experiment 6 (InSight Auxiliary Payload Sensor Suite), which includes pressure and TWINS (Temperature and Winds for InSight) sensors and a magnetometer. These sensors monitor the atmospheric sources of seismic noise and signals 7. After seven sols (Martian days) of SP on-deck operation, with seismic noise comparable to that of Viking 3 , InSight's robotic arm 8 placed SEIS on the ground 22 sols after landing, at a location selected through analysis of InSight's imaging data 9. After levelling and noise assessment, the Wind and Thermal Shield was deployed on sol 66 (2 February 2019). A few days later, all six axes started continuous seismic recording, at 20 samples per second (sps) for VBBs and 100 sps for SPs. After onboard decimation, continuous records at rates from 2 to 20 sps and event records 5 at 100 sps are transmitted. Several layers of thermal protection and very low self-noise enable the SEIS VBB sensors to record the daily variation of the
A planet’s crust bears witness to the history of planetary formation and evolution, but for Mars, no absolute measurement of crustal thickness has been available. Here, we determine the structure of the crust beneath the InSight landing site on Mars using both marsquake recordings and the ambient wavefield. By analyzing seismic phases that are reflected and converted at subsurface interfaces, we find that the observations are consistent with models with at least two and possibly three interfaces. If the second interface is the boundary of the crust, the thickness is 20 ± 5 kilometers, whereas if the third interface is the boundary, the thickness is 39 ± 8 kilometers. Global maps of gravity and topography allow extrapolation of this point measurement to the whole planet, showing that the average thickness of the martian crust lies between 24 and 72 kilometers. Independent bulk composition and geodynamic constraints show that the thicker model is consistent with the abundances of crustal heat-producing elements observed for the shallow surface, whereas the thinner model requires greater concentration at depth.
It aims to determine the interior structure, composition and thermal state of Mars, as well as constrain present-day seismicity and impact cratering rates. Such information is key to understanding the differentiation and subsequent thermal evolution of Mars, and thus the forces that shape the planet's surface geology and volatile processes. Here we report an overview of the first ten months of geophysical observations by InSight. As of 30 September 2019, 174 seismic events have been recorded by the lander's seismometer, including over 20 events of moment magnitude M w = 3-4. The detections thus far are consistent with tectonic origins, with no impact-induced seismicity yet observed, and indicate a seismically active planet. An assessment of these detections suggests that the frequency of global seismic events below approximately M w = 3 is similar to that of terrestrial intraplate seismic activity, but there are fewer larger quakes; no quakes exceeding M w = 4 have been observed. The lander's other instruments-two cameras, atmospheric pressure, temperature and wind sensors, a magnetometer and a radiometer-have yielded much more than the intended supporting data for seismometer noise characterization: magnetic field measurements indicate a local magnetic field that is ten-times stronger than orbital estimates and meteorological measurements reveal a more dynamic atmosphere than expected, hosting baroclinic and gravity waves and convective vortices. With the mission due to last for an entire Martian year or longer, these results will be built on by further measurements by the InSight lander. Publisher's note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
For 2 years, the InSight lander has been recording seismic data on Mars that are vital to constrain the structure and thermochemical state of the planet. We used observations of direct (P and S) and surface-reflected (PP, PPP, SS, and SSS) body-wave phases from eight low-frequency marsquakes to constrain the interior structure to a depth of 800 kilometers. We found a structure compatible with a low-velocity zone associated with a thermal lithosphere much thicker than on Earth that is possibly related to a weak S-wave shadow zone at teleseismic distances. By combining the seismic constraints with geodynamic models, we predict that, relative to the primitive mantle, the crust is more enriched in heat-producing elements by a factor of 13 to 20. This enrichment is greater than suggested by gamma-ray surface mapping and has a moderate-to-elevated surface heat flow.
[1] To understand the dynamics of shallow magmatic intrusions, I propose a theoretical model of magma spreading laterally below an elastic crust. Nondimensionalization of the flow equation leads to the identification of characteristic scales for the intrusion: while the characteristic intrusion length is controlled by the elastic response of the crust, its characteristic thickness primarily depends on magma properties and injection rate. Three spreading regimes are identified and characterized by different morphologies as well as by scaling laws for thickness versus length and thickness versus time. The first spreading regime is controlled by the elastic response of the crust and the shape of the flow is self-similar. When the time, length, and thickness become larger than an elastic time, length, and thickness scale, the edges of the flow become steeper and the system transitions to a gravity current regime. When the intrusion is thick enough to accommodate the pressure head, the flow enters a regime of lateral propagation and keeps a constant thickness. The intrusion shape in the elastic regime fits the observed shape of terrestrial laccoliths. The elastic scaling law for intrusion thickness versus length fits observations of laccoliths at Elba Island, Italy, and provides for a physical explanation for the observed relationship between length and thickness on terrestrial laccoliths. Laccoliths are predicted to form over short time scales, depending on magma viscosity, that vary between approximately a month to several years for felsic magmas on Earth. On the Moon, several elongated low-slope domes have recently been identified as possibly formed by laccolith intrusions at depth, although they are much larger than terrestrial laccoliths. Because the Moon has a smaller gravity than on the Earth, a deeper magma source, and a more mafic magma composition than for terrestrial laccoliths (implying smaller pressure gradient and dike width), lunar intrusions have a larger characteristic length and a smaller characteristic thickness. After nondimensionalization, the morphologies (length versus thickness) of terrestrial and inferred lunar laccoliths follow the same curve and are well fitted by the elastic scaling law. This model thus explains the size discrepancy between terrestrial laccoliths and lunar low-slope domes. Therefore, low-slope domes identified on the Moon are good candidates for laccolith-type intrusions at depth.
Analyses of seismic data from the InSight mission have provided the first in situ constraints on the thickness of the crust of Mars. These crustal thickness constraints are currently limited to beneath the lander that is located in the northern lowlands, and we use gravity and topography data to construct global crustal thickness models that satisfy the seismic data. These models consider a range of possible mantle and core density profiles, a range of crustal densities, a low-density surface layer, and the possibility that the crustal density of the northern lowlands is greater than that of the southern highlands. Using the preferred InSight three-layer seismic model of the crust, the average crustal thickness of the planet is found to lie between 30 and 72 km. Depending on the choice of the upper mantle density, the maximum permissible density of the northern lowlands and southern highlands crust is constrained to be between 2,850 and 3,100 kg m −3 . These crustal densities are lower than typical Martian basaltic materials and are consistent with a crust that is on average more felsic than the materials found at the surface. We argue that a substantial portion of the crust of Mars is a primary crust that formed during the initial differentiation of the planet. Various hypotheses for the origin of the observed intracrustal seisimic layers are assessed, with our preferred interpretation including thick volcanic deposits, ejecta from the Utopia basin, porosity closure, and differentiation products of a Borealis impact melt sheet. Plain Language SummaryThe crust, mantle and core are the three major geochemical layers that make up a planet. Before NASA's InSight mission, the thickness of the crust of Mars was inferred using indirect techniques, including analyses of gravity data collected from orbit and the composition of surface rocks. Estimates for the average thickness using these techniques spanned the range from 27 to 118 km. Analyses of data collected by the InSight seismometer have provided us with the first direct seismic measurement of the thickness of the crust, but this measurement is only for beneath the lander that is located in the northern lowlands where the crust is expected to be thinner than average. In this work, gravity and topography data are used to construct global crustal thickness models that satisfy the new seismic constraints. The average crustal thickness is found to be somewhere between 32 and 70 km, and the average density of the crust can be no larger than 3,100 kg m −3 . This bulk crustal density is lower than most typical Martian WIECZOREK ET AL.
New insights into the chemistry of the Martian crust have been made available since the derivation of crustal thickness maps from Mars Global Surveyor gravity and topography data that used a conservative range of density values (2700-3100 kg/m 3 ). A new range of crustal density values is calculated from the major element chemistry of Martian meteorites (3100-3700 kg/m 3 ), igneous rocks at Gusev crater (3100-3600 kg/m 3 ) and from the surface concentration of Fe, Al, Ca, Si, and K measured by the Gamma-Ray Spectrometer on board Mars Odyssey (3250-3450 kg/m 3 ). In addition, the density of mineral assemblages resulting from low-pressure crystallization of primary melts of the primitive mantle are estimated for plausible conditions of partial melting corresponding to the Noachian to Amazonian periods (3100-3300 kg/m 3 ). Despite the differences between these approaches, the results are all consistent with an average density above 3100 kg/m 3 for those materials that are close to the surface. The density may be compatible with the measured mass of Mars and the moment of inertia factor, but only if the average crustal thickness is thicker than previously thought (approaching 100 km). A thicker crust implies that crustal delamination and recycling could be possible and may even control its thickness, globally or locally. Alternatively, and considering that geoid-to-topography ratios argue against such a thick crust for the highlands, our results suggest the existence of a buried felsic or anorthositic component in the southern hemisphere of Mars.
Key Points:• The spreading of water sills is limited by ice fracturing • Deep sills can thicken significantly in contrast to shallow sills • Pits, domes, and small chaos morphology can result from subsequent sill evolution Abstract Pits, domes, and small chaos on Europa's surface are quasi-circular features a few to a few tens of kilometers in diameter. We examine if injection of water sills into Europa's ice shell and their subsequent evolution can induce successive surface deformations similar to the morphologies of these features. We study the dynamics of water spreading within the elastic part of the ice shell and show that the mechanical properties of ice exert a strong control on the lateral extent of the sill. At shallow depths, water makes room for itself by lifting the overlying ice layer and water weight promotes lateral spreading of the sill. In contrast, a deep sill bends the underlying elastic layer and its weight does not affect its spreading. In that case, the sill lateral extent is limited by the fracture toughness of ice and the sill can thicken substantially. After emplacement, cooling of the sill warms the surrounding ice and thins the overlying elastic ice layer. As a result, preexisting stresses in the elastic part of the ice shell increase locally to the point that they may disrupt the ice above the sill (small chaos). Disruption of the surface also allows for partial isostatic compensation of water weight, leading to a topographic depression at the surface (pit), of the order of ∼10 2 m. Complete water solidification finally causes expansion of the initial sill volume and results in an uplifted topography (dome) of ∼10 2 m.
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