Mars Volcano, Earth's Dinosaurs Went Extinct About the Same Time

New NASA research reveals that the giant Martian volcano Arsia Mons produced one new lava flow at its summit every 1 to 3 million years during the final peak of activity. The last volcanic activity there ceased about 50 million years ago -- around the time of Earth's Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction, when large numbers of our planet's plant and animal species (including dinosaurs) went extinct.

New research using observations from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter indicates that Arsia Mons, one of the largest volcanos on Mars, actively produced lava flows until about 50 million years ago. This wide view of the volcano is from the Viking 1 Orbiter. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS

Located just south of Mars' equator, Arsia Mons is the southernmost member of a trio of broad, gently sloping shield volcanoes collectively known as Tharsis Montes. Arsia Mons was built up over billions of years, though the details of its lifecycle are still being worked out.

The most recent volcanic activity is thought to have taken place in the caldera-the bowl-shaped depression at the top -- where 29 volcanic vents have been identified. Until now, it's been difficult to make a precise estimate of when this volcanic field was active.

Measuring about 68 miles (110 kilometers) across, the caldera is deep enough to hold the entire volume of water in Lake Huron, and then some.

The team mapped the boundaries of the lava flows from each of the 29 volcanic vents and determined the stratigraphy, or layering, of the flows. The researchers also performed a technique called crater counting -- tallying up the number of craters at least 330 feet (100 meters) in diameter -- to estimate the ages of the flows.

Using a new computer model, the two types of information were combined to determine the volcanic equivalent of a batting order for Arsia Mons' 29 vents. The oldest flows date back about 200 million years. The youngest flows probably occurred 10 to 90 million years ago -- most likely around 50 million years ago.

The modeling also yielded estimates of the volume flux for each lava flow. At their peak about 150 million years ago, the vents in the Arsia Mons' caldera probably collectively produced about 0.25 to 2 cubic miles (1 to 8 cubic kilometers) of magma every million years, slowly adding to the volcano's size. (NASA)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Stunning Star Birth in Earliest Galaxies

A team of astronomers discovered a new kind of galaxy which, although extremely old -- formed less than a billion years after the Big Bang -- creates stars more than a hundred times faster than our own Milky Way.

Earth-Sized 'Tatooine' Planets Could Be Habitable

With two suns in its sky, Luke Skywalker's home planet Tatooine in "Star Wars" looks like a parched, sandy desert world.

Massive primordial galaxies found in ‘halo’ of dark matter

Observations of two galaxies made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope suggest that large galaxies formed faster than scientists had previously thought.

Cracks in Pluto's moon could indicate it once had an underground ocean

If the icy surface of Pluto's giant moon Charon is cracked, analysis of the fractures could reveal if its interior was warm, perhaps warm enough to have maintained a subterranean ocean of liquid water, according to a new study.

New Clues to TRAPPIST-1 Planet Compositions, Atmospheres

In the year since NASA announced the seven Earth-sized planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system, scientists have been working hard to better understand these enticing worlds just 40 light-years away.

ESO Discovers Earth-Size Planet in Habitable Zone of Nearest Star

A newly discovered, roughly Earth-sized planet orbiting our nearest neighboring star might be habitable, according to a team of astronomers using the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope at La Silla, Chile.