The study of the interior of Mars is complicated by the fact that the planet is not a developed plate tectonics as on Earth. However, in the new study, scientists have been able to detect the boundaries of three geological layers.
“the Absence of plate tectonics on Mars allows the planet to “save” their early history,” — reads the statement of the authors. “Evaluation of the depth of seismic boundaries of Mars can give a better understanding of his past, as well as the formation and evolution of terrestrial planets in General.”
Data was collected using NASA’s InSight, which uses the SEIS seismograph to measure the vibrations coming from the depths of Mars. Scientists Alan Leavander and Zijuan Deng from rice University analyzed seismic data collected in SEIS in the period between February and April 2019. In order to understand and process signals from the apparatus, and also to obtain data on the heterogeneity at different depths, the researchers used a technique called autocorrelation of the background noise.
A group of scientists found three boundaries in the internal structure of Mars: the gap between the crust and mantle, located 35 kilometers below the surface; the transition at a depth of 1110 – 1170 kilometers from the mantle where olivine becomes in wadsley; the boundary between the mantle and the core, which is between 1520 – 2000 miles under the ground. Since the average radius of the red planet is 3390 kilometers, presumably the radius of the nucleus is 1790 – 1870 miles.
This information sheds light not only on the present planet, but as Mars evolved over time.
