Repetitive marsquakes in Martian upper mantle

Sun, Weijia; Tkalčić, Hrvoje

doi:10.1038/s41467-022-29329-x

Cited by 22 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…Something like this can be caused by a volume of magma that propagates as a dike intrusion, then cools, stalls, or partially deflates some seconds later, activating slip on fractures or faults in surrounding rock. A recent analysis by Sun and Tkalčić (2022) found many marsquakes in the area of Cerberus Fossae, many of which have smaller signal to noise ratios than S0173a but contain similar waveforms. Based on this repetitive nature of the seismicity, Sun and Tkalčić (2022) concluded that a magmatic origin was the most likely explanation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Volcano‐Tectonic Origins and Faulting Mechanisms of Three Low‐Frequency Marsquakes Detected by a Single InSight Seismometer

Sita

Lee

2022

JGR Planets

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Utilizing low‐frequency events reported by the Marsquake Service (MQS), we selected waveform data collected from the InSight mission to characterize the origins of three potential marsquakes. S0173a and S0235b were determined to originate near the Cerberus Fossae region. Our calculated backazimuths and epicentral distances were in agreement with those provided by the InSight team. The third event, S0325ab, likely originated southeast of the lander with an epicentral distance of 38.4°, uniquely placing it near the boundary between the Martian highlands and lowlands. We then estimated potential double‐couple faulting mechanisms associated with each of the marsquakes using the relative amplitudes and polarities of the P, SH, and SV waves, in a novel method. S0173a and S0173ab can be explained with a composite mechanism that begins as a thrust faulting, followed by an oblique normal‐faulting mechanism. Given the low level of seismicity on Mars, it is likely that these events did not occur independently but instead form a doublet resulting from a single origin. Though its weaker, S0325a and S0325ab could also represent a doublet that begins with E‐W extension and ends with N‐S extension. Our preferred explanation for S0235b is a single faulting mechanism representing vertical dip‐slip with a small normal‐faulting component. The strike of one fault plane aligns roughly with the exposed faults that represent the Cerberus Fossae. We propose that these diverse faulting mechanisms from different locations represent intra‐crustal deformation in the form of volcano‐tectonic quakes related to magmatic activity, including possible dike propagation in the lower crust.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Volcano‐Tectonic Origins and Faulting Mechanisms of Three Low‐Frequency Marsquakes Detected by a Single InSight Seismometer

Sita

Lee

2022

JGR Planets

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“…Our detection method is only limited by the availability of 20 sps data set from the VBB sensor-but could also be modified to run on 10 sps data and recordings from the SP sensor after retraining. Sun and Tkalčić (2022) reported the discovery of 47 new LF events found during both the low-and high noise periods with template matching techniques using the S-wave waveform of nine strong reference marsquakes. Neither MQNet nor a manual review, using the same criteria used to confirm MQNet detections described in this manuscript, can confirm the large majority of these reported detections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sun and Tkalčić (2022) reported the discovery of 47 new LF events found during both the low‐ and high noise periods with template matching techniques using the S ‐wave waveform of nine strong reference marsquakes. Neither MQNet nor a manual review, using the same criteria used to confirm MQNet detections described in this manuscript, can confirm the large majority of these reported detections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

MarsQuakeNet: A More Complete Marsquake Catalog Obtained by Deep Learning Techniques

et al. 2022

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Seismology allows us to explore the interior of the Earth by studying the numerous earthquakes that occur each year and are recorded by a worldwide network of thousands of seismometers. In contrast, extraterrestrial seismology has been relying on the limited data sets collected during the Apollo (Latham et al., 1970), Viking (Anderson et al., 1977) or Venera (Ksanfomaliti et al., 1982) missions to the Moon, Mars, and Venus. While numerous moonquakes were found in the Apollo data set, no quake was unambiguously identified on Mars or Venus due to the high seismic noise level or the short mission duration. On Mars, this has changed with the arrival of National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (NASA's InSight) mission in 2018 (Banerdt et al., 2020). With the lessons learned during the Viking mission, the InSight lander installed a seismometer package directly on the ground and covered it with a Abstract NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) seismometer has been recording Martian seismicity since early 2019, and to date, over 1,300 marsquakes have been cataloged by the Marsquake Service (MQS). Due to typically low signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) of marsquakes, their detection and analysis remain challenging: while event amplitudes are relatively low, the background noise has large diurnal and seasonal variations and contains various signals originating from the interactions of the local atmosphere with the lander and seismometer system. Since noise can resemble marsquakes in a number of ways, the use of conventional detection methods for catalog curation is limited. Instead, MQS finds events through manual data inspection. Here, we present MarsQuakeNet (MQNet), a deep convolutional neural network for the detection of marsquakes and the removal of noise contamination. Based on three-component seismic data, MQNet predicts segmentation masks that identify and separate event and noise energy in time-frequency domain. As the number of cataloged MQS events is small, we combine synthetic event waveforms with recorded noise to generate a training data set. We apply MQNet to the entire continuous 20 samples-per-second waveform data set available to date (>1,000 Martian days), for automatic event detection and for retrieving denoised amplitudes. The algorithm reproduces all high quality, as well as majority of low quality events in the manual, carefully curated MQS catalog. Furthermore, MQNet detects ∼60% additional events that were previously unknown with mostly low SNR, that are verified in manual review. Our analysis on the event rate confirms seasonal trends and shows a substantial increase in the second Martian year. Plain Language Summary Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and HeatTransport's seismometer on Mars has recorded over 1,300 marsquakes since its full deployment in early 2019. Marsquakes are often weak compared to the seismic background noise, which m...

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“…This slowing (dubbed ‛aging’) can be enhanced or reversed.” They suggest a new “creeping glass” model … “wherein environmental disturbances maintain soil in a perpetually fragile state.” Interestingly, these disturbances include thermal variations and variations in humidity (Bocquet et al., 2002) that are small compared to those measured with diurnal regularity on Mars. They would also include mechanical disturbances such as the expansion‐contraction activity in the adjacent or underlying bedrock discussed through much of this paper and impacts ranging from saltating sand grains to meteors as well as seismic activity on Mars (Sun & Tkalčić, 2022). Hence, this new “creeping glass” model bears on diverse surface processes on Mars, including downslope creep, and the micro‐relief evolution of eolian bedforms and regolith surfaces.…”

Section: Potential Geomorphic Implications Of Expansion‐contraction A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Active Ground Patterns Near Mars' Equator in the Glen Torridon Region of Gale Crater

et al. 2022

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On Mars, near the equator, much of the terrain in Gale Crater consists of bedrock outcrops separated by relatively smooth, uniform regolith surfaces. In scattered sites, however, distinct patterns—in the form and texture of the ground surface—contrast sharply with the typical terrain and with eolian bedforms. This paper focuses on these diverse, intriguing ground patterns. They include ∼1 to >10 m‐long linear disruptions of uniform regolith surfaces, alignments, and other arrangements of similar‐sized rock fragments and shallow, ∼0.1 m‐wide sandy troughs 1–10 m in length. Similar features were recognized early in the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, but they received only limited attention until Curiosity, the MSL rover, encountered striking examples in the Glen Torridon region. Herein, the ground patterns are illustrated with rover images. Potential mechanisms are briefly discussed in the context of the bedrock composition and atmospheric conditions documented by Curiosity. The evidence suggests that the patterns are active forms of spontaneous granular organization. It leads to the hypothesis that the patterns arise and develop from miniscule, inferred cyclic expansion and contraction of the bedrock and regolith, likely driven by oscillating transfers of energy and moisture between the atmosphere and the terrain. The hypothesis has significant implications for studies of contemporary processes on Mars on both sides of the atmosphere‐lithosphere interface. The ground patterns, as well as ripples and dunes formed by the wind, constitute remarkable extra‐terrestrial examples of granular self‐organization, complex phenomena well known in diverse systems on Earth.

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Repetitive marsquakes in Martian upper mantle

Cited by 22 publications

References 58 publications

Potential Volcano‐Tectonic Origins and Faulting Mechanisms of Three Low‐Frequency Marsquakes Detected by a Single InSight Seismometer

Potential Volcano‐Tectonic Origins and Faulting Mechanisms of Three Low‐Frequency Marsquakes Detected by a Single InSight Seismometer

MarsQuakeNet: A More Complete Marsquake Catalog Obtained by Deep Learning Techniques

Active Ground Patterns Near Mars' Equator in the Glen Torridon Region of Gale Crater

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