# Is Mars Still Geologically Active? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mars-still-geologically-active/673347 "2013-11-07T18:26:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mars-still-geologically-active/673347/1 "2013-11-07T18:26:43Z")
Are Martian volcanos still erupting? Or has the planet’s core cooled to the point that there is no more volcanism? The gases that make up the Martian atmosphere (CO2, N2, Ar, O2, H2o)-is there any way to determine if some of them result from recent volcanism? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mars-still-geologically-active/673347/2 "2013-11-07T18:41:49Z")
Back when I went to school we were taught that Mars is no longer geologically active, but more recent evidence seems to indicate that it’s not quite dead yet. You may find this article interesting. > **[Is Mars still geologically active? Meteorites found on Earth could be four...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2377788/Is-Mars-geologically-active-Meteorites-Earth-billion-years-younger-previously-thought.html)** > > An international team of geologists claim that the rocks left Mars 20 million years ago. Previously it was thought the rocks could be up to 4,000 million years old. The wikipedia article on the volcanology of Mars says “some speculate it probably still is so today” and lists a couple of cites you could track down if you are so inclined. > **[Volcanism on Mars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanology_of_Mars)** > > Volcanic activity, or volcanism, has played a significant role in the geologic evolution of Mars. Scientists have known since the Mariner 9 mission in 1972 that volcanic features cover large portions of the Martian surface. These features include extensive lava flows, vast lava plains, and the largest known volcanoes in the Solar System. Martian volcanic features range in age from Noachian (\>3.7 billion years) to late Amazonian (\< 500 million years), indicating that the planet has been v Volcan... ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mars-still-geologically-active/673347/3 "2013-11-07T20:29:39Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > Back when I went to school we were taught that Mars is no longer geologically active, but more recent evidence seems to indicate that it’s not quite dead yet. So it’s only mostly dead? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2013, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mars-still-geologically-active/673347/4 "2013-11-07T21:29:50Z")
The question of Mars and methane gas is still a very puzzling one, which may factor into the question of whether Mars is still active or not. Orbiting probes and studies from Earth have found traces of methane in the atmosphere. The Curiosity rover was built with a number of instruments to test the contents of the atmosphere and found no detectable levels of methane, which was a bit of a surprising negative result. So, the answer is, we’re not sure. But even if it isn’t completely dead, it is certainly “mostly dead”. Apparently the Indian Mars orbiter that was just launched has some methane observation instruments. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mars-still-geologically-active/673347/5 "2013-11-08T02:52:01Z")
Methane and volcanism? I don’t get it. Methane is usually caused by a biologic agent. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mars-still-geologically-active/673347/6 "2013-11-08T02:54:21Z")
On our world, it is, but that’s mostly just because living things are continually meddling with everything involving C, O, H, or N. Absent life, though, it’s one of the default forms in which carbon is found. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-mars-still-geologically-active/673347/7 "2013-11-08T05:31:07Z")
Ok, I dig that (like in the moon Enceladus.) But I’m sure methane didn’t come from a volcano. There is a special case of “volcano” that’s not tectonic or magmatic in nature. When it erupts, it spews ice, ammonia, and methane.