Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Evidence for recent volcanism on Mars from crater counts

Abstract

Impact craters help characterize the age of a planetary surface, because they accumulate with time. They also provide useful constraints on the importance of surface erosion, as such processes will preferentially remove the smaller craters. Earlier studies of martian crater populations revealed that erosion and dust deposition are important processes on Mars1,2,3,4,5,6. They disagreed, however, on the age of the youngest volcanism7, 8. These earlier studies were limited by image resolution to craters larger than a few hundred metres in diameter. Here we report an analysis, using new images obtained by the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft, of crater populations that extend the size distribution down to about 16 m. Our results indicate a wide range of surface ages, with one region—lava flows within the Arsia Mons caldera—that we estimate to be no older than 40–100 million years. We suggest that volcanism is a continuing process on Mars.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Crater density on Arsia Mons.
Figure 2: Horst–graben structure concentric with Arsia Mons caldera rim.
Figure 3: Crater density in the area around Nirgal Vallis.
Figure 4: Crater density in the area around the crater Schiaparelli.

References

  1. Öpik, E. J. Mariner IV and craters on Mars. Irish Astron. J. 7, 92–104 (1965); The Martian surface. Science 153, 255–265 (1966).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hartmann, W. K. Martian cratering (Paper I). Icarus 5, 565–576 (1966).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Chapman, C., Pollack, J. & Sagan, C. An Analysis of the Mariner 4 Photography of Mars (Spec. Rep. 268, Smithson. Astrophys. Obs., (1968)).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Hartmann, W. K. Martian cratering III: Theory of crater obliterations. Icarus 15, 410–428 (1971).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Jones, K. L. Evidence for an episode of crater obliteration intermediate in Martian history. J. Geophys. Res. 79, 3917–3931 (1974).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Chapman, C. R. Cratering on Mars. I. Cratering and obliteration history. Icarus 22, 272–291 (1974).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hartmann, W. K. Martian cratering, IV: Mariner 9 initial analysis of cratering chronology. J. Geophys. Res. 78, 4096–4116 (1973).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Neukum, G. & Hiller, K. Martian ages. J. Geophys. Res. 86, 3097–3121 (1981).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Strom, R. G., Croft, S. K. & Barlow, N. G. in Mars (ed. Kieffer, H.) 383–423 (Univ. Arizona Press, Tucson, (1992)).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Hartmann, W. K. Planetary cratering 1. Lunar highlands and tests of hypotheses on crater populations. Meteoritics 30, 451–467 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Plaut, J., Kahn, R., Guiness, E. & Arvidson, R. Accumulation of sedimentary debris in the south polar region of Mars and implications for climate history. Icarus 76, 357–377 (1988).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Hartmann, W. K. et al. in Basaltic Volcanism on the Terrestrial Planets (eds Basaltic Volcanism Study Project) 1050–1129 (Pergamon, Elmsford, NY, (1981)).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Hartmann, W. K. & Gaskell, R. W. Planetary cratering 2: Studies of saturation equilibrium. Meteorit. Planet. Sci. 32, 109–121 (1996).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Malin, M. C. et al. Early views of the Martian surface from the Mars Orbiter camera of Mars Global Surveyor. Science 279, 1681–1685 (1998).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Binder, A. B. et al. The geology of the Viking 1 lander site. J. Geophys. Res. 82, 4439–4451 (1977).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  16. Gault, D. E. & Baldwin, B. S. Impact cratering on Mars: some effects in the atmosphere. Eos 51, 343 ((1970)).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Carr, M. H. & Viking Orbiter Team Viking Orbiter View of Mars (Spec. Publ. 441, NASA Washington D, (1980)).

    Google Scholar 

  18. Cinala, M. J. in Impact and Explosion Cratering (eds Roddy, D. J., Pepin, R. O. & Merrill, R. B.) 575–592 (Pergamon, Elmsford, NY, (1977)).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Nyquist, L. et al. Asingle-crater origin for Martian shergottites: Resolution of the age paradox? Lunar Planet. Sci. 29, 1688 (1998).

    ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank G. Herres, G. Esquerdo, and, in Madrid, J. Anguita and M. de las Casas, for assistance with crater counts and data processing. We also thank D. Berman and G. Hartmann for editorial assistance.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William K. Hartmann.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Hartmann, W., Malin, M., McEwen, A. et al. Evidence for recent volcanism on Mars from crater counts. Nature 397, 586–589 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/17545

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/17545

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing