Seismic Data Suggests Ocean’s Worth of Water Lies Beneath Surface of Mars
The volume of water is estimated to be enough to cover Mars in an ocean about a mile deep.
Scientists have discovered a significant reservoir of liquid water deep beneath the surface of Mars, marking a major breakthrough in our understanding of the Red Planet’s water cycle and potential for habitability
The discovery was made using data from NASA’s Mars InSight lander, which recorded seismic activity on Mars for four years before its mission concluded in December 2022. By analyzing the velocity of seismic waves from Marsquakes, researchers could infer the presence of liquid water in the planet’s rocky outer crust.
Three billion years ago, Mars was covered with oceans and flowing rivers of water. Today, the Red Planet’s landscape is starkly different, with no liquid surface water—just patches of frozen water ice—and rocky channels and dry lakebeds where rivers and lakes once were.
But miles beneath its surface, Mars might contain a massive reservoir of water trapped within the nooks and crannies of porous, volcanic rock, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. If extracted, researchers say it would be enough water to create a planet-wide ocean about a mile deep.
Data from NASA’s InSight lander, a robot designed to study the deep interior of Mars, revealed the underground ocean. Still, the water is not a single, giant reservoir; it’s instead encased within the miniature cracks of the planet’s crust, between about 7 and 13 miles deep. The findings could help researchers piece together what happened to all the water on Mars billions of years ago—and it might be the next place to look for signs of life.
Using data collected by the SEIS (Seismic Experiment for the Interior Structure) instrument, researchers Ikuo Katayama of Hiroshima University and Yuya Akamatsu of the Research Institute for Marine Geodynamics in Japan believe that the seismic waves show that the underground water is 6-12 miles deep beneath the barren surface.
SEIS was the first ever seismometer to operate on Mars, and it was sensitive to three different types of seismic wave emanating from marsquakes. These were: P-waves, which oscillate back and forth similar to how a sound wave propagates; S-waves which oscillate up and down, perpendicular to the direction of travel; and surface waves, which travel along the surface of Mars similar to ripples in a pond.
The new research was focused on the subterranean P-waves and S-waves. P-waves are the faster seismic waves, while S-waves are slower and cannot travel through water because liquid does not permit that kind of oscillation perpendicular to motion. Seismometers measuring these two different types of seismic wave can help reveal the density and composition of the underground medium (such as water, or rock) through which those waves travelled, based on how strong their signals are and how long it took them to reach the seismometer.
With that in mind, Katayama and Akamatsu honed in on two transitional regions in the seismic data, where there appear to be sudden changes in the properties of the interior of the Red Planet at depths of 6.2 to 12.4 miles (10 and 20 kilometers), very close to where previous studies claim to have found evidence for liquid water.
This finding is a good news/bad news for those hoping to colonize Mars.
The good news is that there is potentially available water on the planet, which can be mined and recycled for use. As with groundwater on Earth, Mars water resides in cracks and crevices.
The bad news is that there is a potential for microbial life in that water.
On Earth, these water-filled rocks can host microbes even while buried deep in the crust, said Michael Manga, study author and professor of planetary geology at the University of California at Berkeley. Since liquid water is one of the basic requirements for life as we know it, does that mean Mars could also host microbes underground?
“That’s the bazillion-dollar question,” Manga added.
And such life would make the calculations and decisions related to exploring and colonizing Mars challenging.
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Mars is the only planet in our solar system occupied total by robots. Will they allow humans to step on the surface?
Indigenous robots?
Now that is thought-provoking!
Click, click, click, . . . beeeeep, . . . hmmmmm ….
John Carpenter did this movie already.
liquid water that is miles deep would be very difficult to access.
Both the north and south poles have water ice on the surface in the thousands of tons.
And in the Permafrost just under that is miles of water ice and possibly liquid glacial lakes.
Colonies at the poles will have no lack of water.
The problem with colonization of Mars is space radiation.
While habitats may be built in tunnels, or covered in ice or regolith
The colonists even in spacesuits will have limited time on the surface because of radiation exposure.
If it’s down there because of some natural process, why wouldn’t those same natural processes produce a similar effect if one tries to bring it up (assuming whatever’s living down there doesn’t kill everyone in the known universe)
Which brings us back to genetic engineering, humans enhanced, adapted to specific planets and to survive in generational space ships. Now comes those who will object, if mankind was meant to fly, they would have wings. Actually that is a possibility.
There was also a movie called “Life” that could have been a really good horror movie but it misstepped near the end. .
Usual suspects filing a lawsuit in a suitable district court to prevent US colonization and exploitation of mars in 3…2…1…
Every court in the world lacks jurisdiction.
I used to think that too. Now, I’m pretty sure federal court D.C. judges have final-say over all matters involving Mars.
Water on Mars means that with nuclear power, man can survive. Next, what radioactive materials are there to sustain a reaction?
Fracking takes place at 5K’ and below. I believe we can drill (on Earth) several miles for oil. So, the technology is there. Unfortunately, that technology is incredibly large and heavy. I have no idea what the payload is of Musk’s biggest rocket. But, I suspect it’s not even close to big enough to accommodate even a tenth of the weight of a drilling rig capable of drilling miles into the Martian crust. We may eventually colonize Mars. But, we’re not colonizing Mars anytime within the current generation of man.
Current starship can launch 270 tons to Geo sync orbit and they are supposed to be refuellable, However 3d printing is probably the way this would be done, Send up the printer and mine the base ingredients on mars or asteroids.
Mining and smelting operations also require massive machinery and infrastructure.
Almond Joy got nuts
Mars don’t
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