The Briefing Room
General Category => Science, Technology and Knowledge => Space => Topic started by: Elderberry on June 28, 2019, 03:06:59 pm
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Space.com by Mike Wall 6/27/2019
The tremors could help future Mars explorers locate and access a precious resource.
Mars and Oklahoma might share a surprising seismic bond.
The fracking boom has spurred a surge of tremors across the Sooner State and neighboring Texas, scientists say. These quakes are caused by the injection of wastewater underground, which increases pressure and leads to the slippage of tectonic faults.
Michael Manga, a planetary scientist at the University of California Berkeley, and his colleagues propose that compressed aquifers can trigger marsquakes. The compression comes courtesy of the Red Planet's frigid temperatures, which freeze the aquifers' upper layers. (Water expands as it freezes, you may recall.)
More: https://www.space.com/marsquakes-evidence-compressed-groundwater.html (https://www.space.com/marsquakes-evidence-compressed-groundwater.html)