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Volcanic activity and its related subsurface magma-feeding system in Central Elysium Planitia, Mars

Motohiko Kouno1, Adrien Broquet2, and Rina Noguchi1

  • Affiliations: 1Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan; 2German Aerospace Center, Berlin, Germany

  • Presentation type: Talk

  • Presentation time: Tuesday 10:45 - 11:00, Room S160

  • Programme No: 1.4.2

  • Theme 1 > Session 4

Abstract

The diversity of mantle plumes across different terrestrial bodies (i.e., Venus, Earth, and Mars) draws the attention of researchers in planetary science and volcanology. Recent studies have proposed the existence of an active mantle plume beneath one of Mars's youngest regions, Central Elysium Planitia (Broquet and Andrews-Hanna, 2023). Central Elysium Planitia (hereafter CEP) has exhibited effusive volcanic activity over the past 250 million years (e.g., Vaucher et al., 2009). Recent seismic observation suggests possible current volcanic activity in this region (e.g., Stähler et al., 2022). In this study, we especially focus on low shields (small shield volcanoes, hereafter referred to as LSs) and aim to reconstruct the volcanic history and the subsurface magma feeding system at CEP. By crater counting, we estimate the surface age of LSs to be after 100 Ma, and most of them are after 30 Ma. Our analyses of geomorphology, spatial distribution, and the surface age of volcanic units suggest that:  1. The dense-rock equivalent (DRE) of volcanic units in CEP underwent changes following the Marte Valles lava effusion, which occurred around 10 Ma. 2. The spatial distribution of LSs is influenced by a magma-feeding system that dynamically interacts with the regional stresses induced by the proposed active mantle plume. In this presentation, we will discuss these findings and explore the history and subsurface systems associated with the latest volcanic activity on the red planet.