Elysium volcanic province tagged posts

This is a solidified lava flow over the side of a crater rim of Elysium. Credit: NASA HiRISE image, David Susko, LSU

New Mars research shows evidence of a complex mantle beneath the Elysium volcanic province. Mars’ mantle may be more complicated than previously thought. In a new study researchers at LSU found that the unusual chemistry of lava flows around Elysium is consistent with primary magmatic processes, eg. heterogeneous mantle beneath Mars’ surface or the weight of the overlying volcanic mountain causing different layers of mantle to melt at different temperatures as they rise to the surface.

Elysium is a giant volcanic complex on Mars, the second largest behind Olympic Mons. For scale, it rises to twice the height of Earth’s Mount Everest, or ~16 kilometers...