Researchers at Penn State have a keen interest in the new possibilities for discovering subsurface water on Mars using the seismoelectric signals created by marsquakes. A method that is speaking about analyzing the electromagnetic fields produced by seismic waves will enable new ways of discovering Martian aquifers and define how the water is distributed beneath the surface of the planet.
While liquid water may well exist on Mars today, it will be hard to detect because it has certainly been buried deep—way beyond the reach of conventional methods on Earth. But scientists from Penn State suggest that investigating marsquakes takes a key to finding water reservoirs within the Red Planet.
According to the lead author, Nolan Roth, a doctoral candidate in Penn State’s Department of Geosciences, this method could almost revolutionize the way humans explore Mars. Their work was published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, which focused on how seismoelectric signals could serve as indicators for subsurface water several miles underneath the surface of Mars. This is done by utilizing data from the NASA InSight lander, which includes information on its seismometer and magnetometer. Together, this gave the team a unique electromagnetic signature to decipher the existence of liquid water.
“One of the leading theories out there within the scientific community is that Mars used to have vast oceans, yet somehow—a process which is not thoroughly understood—most of this water vanished,” he says. “But there are indicators that certain amounts can be trapped in subsurface reservoirs. We’re trying to monitor and finally detect these very weak electromagnetic signals as an indicator for water on Mars.”
Unlike on Earth, where the radar can competently map subsurface structures, depths at which Martian water may reside render these technologies devoid of utility. The seismoelectric method takes the advantage of the fact that seismic waves strongly interact with underground aquifers, at the same time producing a very distinct signature of electromagnetic fields in them. These signals, detectable by surface sensors, hold in them information which can open up understanding about depth, volume, chemical composition, and spatial distribution for aquifers.
Coauthor and associate professor of geosciences at Penn State, Tieyuan Zhu, says there are some special advantages to applying seismoelectric signals on Mars. On Earth, it is not clear what subsurface materials the signal might be distinguishing between. The clean surface of Mars cleans up this interference, making data more starkly interpreted.
They tested their approach against a numerically simulated model of the subsurface of Mars. In the model, they introduced artificial aquifers, managing to characterize with this method an aquifer thickness, physical properties, and salinity.
“Our study is not about the detection of signals merely; it’s about using these signals to investigate Martian aquifers at unprecedented detail,” elaborates Roth. “This approach promises to significantly advance our knowledge about current water conditions on Mars and their evolution over billions of years.”
In the future, Roth plans to dig deeper into already existing data from NASA’s InSight mission to work out their findings. Launched in 2018, the InSight seismometer has recorded marsquakes but had teething issues in separating the signals of water from any other geological feature. An added magnetometer, however, furnished additional data that may further enhance the seismoelectric detection of signals pointing to water.
These key basic seismoelectric research potentials could be effectively maximized by including dedicated instruments in future Mars missions. Integrating state-of-the-art magnetometers within seismometers in such spacecraft will open new dimensions in Martian geophysics and could potentially provide information on hidden water reservoirs and help resolve the geological history of this planet.
Zhu points out that such effects from seismoelectric research have wide implications beyond Mars. This technique contributes to a better understanding of other celestial bodies, specifically Jupiter’s moons, which are supposed to have an icy ocean under their surfaces. This wider application suggests that this technique could be imperative in planetary exploration, with possible redefinitions of how we view extraterrestrial environments.
This research was partially supported by the E. Willard and Ruby S. Miller Fellowship, Penn State, and partially by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. It embodies the spirit of collaboration across the international scientific community as one radical step into the application of disruptive technologies toward uncovering such mysterious bodies as Mars has been and beyond—boding deep implications for planetary science and exploration.
In summary, Penn State’s search for seismoelectric signals on Mars sets in motion a new frontier of research in planetary geophysics. If aided by electromagnetic data from marsquakes, this new approach will continue to uncover some very important insights into Martian aquifers, probably rewriting our recognition about the hydrologic past and present of Mars. Indeed, future exploration missions are expected to integrate seismoelectric methods with an enhanced possibility of hidden water spots, unveiling a hitherto unexplored chapter in planetary evolution.
The implications of discovering subsurface water on Mars do extend beyond scientific curiosity. In that regard, liquid water would be a game-changer in future human exploration and, consequently, likely colonization. Water is needed not only for life itself but also for producing oxygen and rocket fuel. The latter involves the electrolysis of water into hydrogen and oxygen. Discovering accessible water sources on Mars would significantly reduce the cost and difficulty associated with provisioning humans on missions to and settlement buildings on the Red Planet.
It could also help in understanding aquifers on Mars that could have, at some point or another, supported microbial life and planetary habitability. Like those on Earth, such aquifers serve to provide a habitat for life but similarly retain geologic and chemical records potentially holding information about Mars’ geologic history and the evolution of its climate. Data hidden by the characterization of underground water may unlock secrets about Mars’ transformation from a probably habitable world to the barren desert it is today.
Obviously, the future technological developments and methods born from such research have applicability beyond the planetary exploration arena. Seismoelectric techniques are already being applied today on Earth for environmental monitoring, groundwater prospecting, and resource management. Refined through Martian studies, such methods may have greater effects on earthly applications, providing new tools for sustainable water management and geologic investigations right here.
In this respect, investigation of the seismoelectric signals from marsquakes will fall into the category of first-time planetary scientific investigations, aiming at discovering the secrets of Martian aquifers, possibly rewriting its history and future exploration prospects. Through innovative research and collaborative efforts by countries across the world, these electromagnetic signals could be harnessed to unleash hidden water reservoirs in Mars, leading to transformative discoveries for planetary geophysics by pushing human understanding of other worlds toward further exploration and finally colonization.
Source: SciTechDaily
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