On the basis of this result, the scientists then sought to refine the location of the epicentre of the S1222a seismic event, using certain laws used on Earth that interpret the distribution of landslides and avalanches as a function of the epicentres of the earthquakes that triggered them. The position thus obtained allows researchers to make two different interpretations of the mechanism behind the earthquake. The first theory suggests that the seismic activity could be linked to an ancient volcano, Apollinaris Patera, although it is unlikely that it is still active. The second hypothesis suggests that a large geological structure could be the source of the earthquake, a 450 km-long ridge located just next to the epicentral position obtained.
This work paves the way for future research, in particular to better understand how Martian seismic activity can influence surface and subsurface processes. In addition, this study shows that the analysis of surface processes can help us to better understand the mechanisms behind the Red Planet’s current seismicity.
Ref : A. Lucas, I.J. Daubar, M. Le Teuff, C. Perrin, T. Kawamura, L. Posiolova, P. Lognonné, S. Rodriguez, D. Giardini, G. Sainton, A. Mangeney, A. McEwen, Possibly seismically triggered avalanches after the S1222a Marsquake and S1000a impact event, Icarus, Vol. 411, 2024, 115942, DOI : 10.1016/j.icarus.2023.115942.
Datasets in the IPGP Research Collection: Lucas, Antoine; Daubar, J. Ingrid; Le Teuff, Manon; Perrin, Clément; Kawamura, Taichi; Posiolova, Liliya; Lognonné, Philippe; Rodriguez, Sébastien; Giardini, Domenico; Sainton, Grégory; Mangeney, Anne; McEwen, Alfred, 2024, “Avalanches catalogue associated to the s1222a Marsquake”, https://doi.org/10.18715/IPGP.2024.lr68kbwy, IPGP Research Collection, V1