Mars' crust more complex, evolved than previously thought: Researchers

Researchers have determined the Martian crust has greater concentrations of the chemical element silicon, which may mean Mars' original surface may have been similar to Earth's first crust. The Martian surface is uniformly basaltic, a product of billions of years of volcanism and flowing lava on the surface that eventually cooled. Because Mars did not undergo full-scale surface remodelling like the shifting of continents on Earth, scientists had thought Mars' crustal history was a relatively simple tale. But in a new study, researchers found locations in the Red Planet's southern hemisphere with greater concentrations of silicon, a chemical element, than what would be expected in a purely basaltic setting. The silica concentration had been exposed by space rocks that slammed into Mars, excavating material that was embedded miles below the surface, and revealing a hidden past. "There is more silica in the composition that makes the rocks not basalt, but what we call more evolved in composition," says Valerie Payre, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iowa and the study's corresponding author. "That tells us how the crust formed on Mars is definitely more complex than what we knew. So, it's more about understanding that process, and especially what it means for how Earth's crust first formed.The study, "An evolved early crust exposed on Mars revealed through spectroscopy," was published online on Nov 4 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.