Thousands of Ancient Super Eruptions on Mars, Scientists Confirm

  • Released Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Scientists found evidence that a region of northern Mars called Arabia Terra experienced thousands of "super eruptions," the biggest volcanic eruptions known, over a 500-million-year period.

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By studying the topography and mineral composition of a portion of the Arabia Terra region in northern Mars, scientists recently found evidence for thousands of “super eruptions,” which are the most violent volcanic explosions known. Spewing water vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide into the air, these explosions tore through the Martian surface over a 500-million-year period about 4 billion years ago, the scientists estimated.

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NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

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This page was originally published on Wednesday, September 15, 2021.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:43 PM EDT.