Scientists have conclusively discovered oceans of water on Mars. However, the water is – currently at least – too deep for any remote device to tap into.
The presence of water is revealed through seismic data derived from the Insight lander. These readings indicate deep, porous rock filled with liquid water, according to a University of California – Berkeley assessment.
The Insight lander was sent by NASA to Mars in 2018 to investigate the crust, mantle, core and atmosphere, and it recorded invaluable information about Mars’ interior before the mission ended in 2022.
Quakes and meteor impact on Mars generate seismic waves that can help scientists to map the interior. The new study analysed seismic waves detected by the Insight lander and concludes that 11-20 kilometres beneath the surface, a zone of pores and fractures is filled with liquid water.
Insight detected Mars quakes up to about a magnitude of 5, meteor impacts and rumblings from volcanic areas, all of which produced seismic waves that allowed geophysicists to probe the interior.
The scientists employed a mathematical model of rock physics, identical to models used on Earth to map underground aquifers and oil fields, to conclude that the seismic data from Insight are best explained by a deep layer of fractured igneous rock saturated with liquid water. Igneous rocks are cooled hot magma.
The quantity of water is immense, more than was thought to fill Mars’ surface oceans before they disappeared 3 billion years ago (after Mars lost its atmosphere). The presence of river channels, deltas and lake deposits, as well as water-altered rock supports the hypothesis that water once flowed on the planet’s surface.
In relation to the new finding beneath the surface, the scientists to estimate that the amount of groundwater could cover the entire planet to a depth of between 1 and 2 kilometres.
What is also of interest is that while the reservoir is too deep to drill, the water ocean is a possible refuge for life. The finding pinpoints another promising place to look for life on Mars.
The current findings are of interest in terms of the planet’s history. One of the scientists involved, Vashan Wright, states: “Understanding the Martian water cycle is critical for understanding the evolution of the climate, surface and interior. A useful starting point is to identify where water is and how much is there.”
The research appears in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, titled “Liquid water in the Martian mid-crust.”
