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The latest research revealed that the mineral zircon is apparently abundant on the surface of Earth’s closest neighbor, Mars. Scientists from the University of Copenhagen came to their surprising conclusion after analyzing the age and isotopic composition of zircons. They also found that a significant portion of these crystals came from the core of Mars.
If correct, this could revolutionize our understanding of the internal structure of the Red Planet and its evolution.
The mineral zircon containing uranium is also abundant in the continental crust of our planet.
The presence of the mineral is useful for measuring geological features from moving continents to volcanic eruptions.
However, unlike the Earth’s surface, the Martian crust instead resembles that found on our ocean floor, where zircon is rare.
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Consequently, zircon was not expected to be a common mineral on Mars.
GLOBE Institute Professor Martin Bizzarro, who led the study, said: “We were quite surprised and thrilled when we found so many zircons in this Martian meteorite.
“Zircons are incredibly resistant crystals that can be dated and hold information that tells us about their origins.
“Having access to so many zircons is like opening a time window in the geological history of the planet.”
“The Black Beauty meteorite is believed to come from the southern hemisphere of Mars, which has no young volcanic soils.
“The only possible source for these young zircons is the volcanic province of Tharsis located in the northern hemisphere of the planet, which contains large volcanoes that were active recently.”
Since Mars is almost completely dead, from a seismic point of view, the planet is devoid of plate tectonics.
This means that volcanoes accumulate in one place and consequently grow in phenomenal proportions.
So, if the researchers’ conclusions are correct, younger zircons could contain information about the deep and inaccessible core of Mars.
This marks the first time that scientists have gained direct access to the inner depths of the Red Planet via these samples, allowing them to map its internal structure and composition.
Mafalda Costa, co-author of a new study, said in a statement: “Having samples of the inner depths of Mars is essential.
“That means we can now use these zircons to probe the origin of volatile elements on Mars, including its water, and see how it compares to Earth and other planets in the Solar System.”
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