Researchers from the University of Oxford have uncovered evidence that Mars once hosted enormous, Earth-like magmatic systems deep beneath i
"Researchers from the University of Oxford have uncovered evidence that Mars once hosted enormous, Earth-like magmatic systems deep beneath its surface—despite the planet lacking the plate tectonics long thought necessary for this kind of geological complexity.
The findings, published in Nature Astronomy, reveal new possibilities for how rocky planets become habitable.
Mars is often described as a "stagnant lid" planet: Unlike Earth, its surface is not broken into moving tectonic plates. Because plate tectonics drives volcanism, recycling and continent-building on Earth, many scientists assumed Mars lacked the conditions needed to produce similarly complex crust. However, this new study challenges that view, suggesting that Mars could have produced highly evolved crust through intense internal recycling.
The study was based on data recorded by NASA's InSight mission to investigate seismic waves from meteoroid impacts and marsquakes—the Martian equivalent of earthquakes."
"The researchers believe that this buried layer likely formed where molten rock pooled deep underground and gradually separated into different materials. This would leave behind a thick residue of dense crystals at the base of the crust, while lighter, more evolved melts rose upward. On Earth, similar processes occur beneath volcanic arcs and are linked to the formation of continents.
(...) "We've traditionally assumed that volcanism on Mars was relatively simple compared to that on Earth. But this discovery suggests Mars could sustain large, long-lived systems where molten rock evolved and reprocessed itself throughout the entire crust. It raises exciting possibilities for how common such systems might be on rocky planets beyond our solar system."
The study suggests this layer may extend sideways for hundreds or even thousands of kilometers around Mars' northern hemisphere, indicating that the red planet once hosted enormous, interconnected magmatic systems rather than simple, isolated volcanoes. This phenomenon—known as "transcrustal magmatism"—was previously thought to be unique to Earth.
These geological processes are closely linked to how planets develop atmospheres, oceans and potentially habitable environments. For instance, on Earth, geological recycling helps regulate climate and supports long-term cycling of water and other volatile elements."
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