{"id":6259,"date":"2023-05-09T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-09T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=6259"},"modified":"2023-04-28T18:13:21","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T18:13:21","slug":"seismic-waves-reveal-mars-liquid-core-and-chemical-composition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/seismic-waves-reveal-mars-liquid-core-and-chemical-composition\/","title":{"rendered":"Seismic Waves Reveal Mars’ Liquid Core and Chemical Composition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scientists have directly measured the properties of Mars\u2019 core for the first time and confirmed model predictions of its composition. The international research team, which included seismologists from the University of Maryland<\/a>, used seismic data acquired by the NASA<\/a> InSight lander<\/a> to detect seismic waves traveling through Mars\u2019 core, revealing a completely liquid iron-alloy core with high percentages of sulfur and oxygen. This finding sheds new light on how Mars formed and the geological differences between Earth and Mars that may affect planetary habitability.<\/p>\n\n\n

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(\u201cMars<\/a>\u201d by Kevin M. Gill<\/a> is licensed under CC BY 2.0<\/a>.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

To determine these differences, the team tracked the progression of two distant seismic events on Mars, one caused by a marsquake and the other by a large impact, and detected waves that traveled through the planet\u2019s core. By comparing the time it took those waves to travel through Mars to waves that stayed in the mantle and combining this information with other seismic and geophysical measurements, the team estimated the density and compressibility of the material the waves traveled through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The researchers\u2019 results indicated Mars most likely has an entirely liquid core, unlike Earth\u2019s combination of a liquid outer core and a solid inner core. Additionally, the team inferred details about the core\u2019s chemical composition, such as the surprisingly large amount of light elements (elements with low atomic numbers) \u2014 namely sulfur and oxygen \u2014 present in Mars\u2019 innermost layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team\u2019s findings have confirmed the accuracy of current modeling estimates that aim to unravel the layers hidden beneath a planet\u2019s surface. Research like this also paves the way for future geophysics-oriented expeditions to other celestial bodies, including planets like Venus and Mercury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences <\/em>(PNAS)<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/h1>\n\n\n\n