Study reveals first evidence of volcanic projection cone on Mars

While working under the direction of Erika Rader, an assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Idaho, a postdoctoral researcher identified a volcanic vent on Mars as a cone of projection potential and compared it to a projection cone formed during the 2021 Fagradalsfjall eruption in Iceland.

The study is published in the journal Icarus.

Through detailed morphological investigation and ballistic modeling, Ian TW Flynn discovered that the Martian volcanic feature strongly resembles projection cones found on Earth.

“Throw cones are so common on Earth that it seemed extremely unlikely that they simply wouldn’t exist on Mars,” Rader said. “Since projection cones can only form under the right conditions, their presence gives us a baseline to consider when simulating Martian volcanoes.”

Splash cones are created by hot chunks of flying lava falling to the surface during explosive volcanic eruptions, especially during prolonged periods of lava fountaining. They are common on Earth, including in Idaho, notably at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, and have long been suspected to be found on Mars as well. However, until now there was no solid evidence of their existence.

“The similarity between the projection cones of Mars and Iceland indicates that the dynamics of the eruptions that occurred in Iceland in recent years also occurred on Mars,” Flynn said. “This is exciting because it expands the range of styles of volcanic eruptions possible on Mars.”

This discovery may give us clues about how volcanic eruptions occurred on Mars, particularly regarding the gases contained in the magma and the environmental conditions at the time of the eruption. It’s also further confirmation that volcanoes in Iceland – and Idaho – are erupting today in the same way volcanoes erupted on Mars millions of years ago.

“We are excited about this discovery because it fills an observational gap in Martian volcanology and lays the foundation for future research into the characteristics of splashes on Mars,” Flynn said.