Squeezing Marsquakes Out of Groundwater
Abstract
Pore pressure in aquifers confined below a cryosphere will increase as Mars cools and the cryosphere thickens. Increased pore pressure decreases the effective stress and hence promotes seismicity. We calculate the rate of pore pressure change from cooling of Mars's interior and the modulation of pore pressure from solar and Phobos tides and barometric loading. Using the time-varying pressure and tidal stresses, we compute Coulomb stress changes and the expected seismicity rate from a rate-and-state friction model. Seismicity rate will vary by several tens of percent to 2 orders of magnitude if the mean pore pressure is within 0.2 and 0.01 MPa of lithostatic, respectively. Seismic events promoted by high pore pressure may be tremor-like. Documenting (or not) tidally modulated shallow seismicity would provide evidence for (or against) water-filled confined aquifers, that pore pressure is high, and that the state of stress is close to failure—with implications for processes that can deliver water to the Martian surface.
- Authors:
-
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1580887
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1560204
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; SC0019307
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 46; Journal Issue: 12; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 58 GEOSCIENCES
Citation Formats
Manga, Michael, Zhai, Guang, and Wang, Chi‐Yuen. Squeezing Marsquakes Out of Groundwater. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1029/2019gl082892.
Manga, Michael, Zhai, Guang, & Wang, Chi‐Yuen. Squeezing Marsquakes Out of Groundwater. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019gl082892
Manga, Michael, Zhai, Guang, and Wang, Chi‐Yuen. Mon .
"Squeezing Marsquakes Out of Groundwater". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019gl082892. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1580887.
@article{osti_1580887,
title = {Squeezing Marsquakes Out of Groundwater},
author = {Manga, Michael and Zhai, Guang and Wang, Chi‐Yuen},
abstractNote = {Pore pressure in aquifers confined below a cryosphere will increase as Mars cools and the cryosphere thickens. Increased pore pressure decreases the effective stress and hence promotes seismicity. We calculate the rate of pore pressure change from cooling of Mars's interior and the modulation of pore pressure from solar and Phobos tides and barometric loading. Using the time-varying pressure and tidal stresses, we compute Coulomb stress changes and the expected seismicity rate from a rate-and-state friction model. Seismicity rate will vary by several tens of percent to 2 orders of magnitude if the mean pore pressure is within 0.2 and 0.01 MPa of lithostatic, respectively. Seismic events promoted by high pore pressure may be tremor-like. Documenting (or not) tidally modulated shallow seismicity would provide evidence for (or against) water-filled confined aquifers, that pore pressure is high, and that the state of stress is close to failure—with implications for processes that can deliver water to the Martian surface.},
doi = {10.1029/2019gl082892},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
number = 12,
volume = 46,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {6}
}
Web of Science
Works referenced in this record:
Two-year survey comparing earthquake activity and injection-well locations in the Barnett Shale, Texas
journal, August 2012
- Frohlich, C.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 109, Issue 35
Cryovolcanism and the Recent Flow of Liquid Water on Mars
journal, September 2001
- Gaidos, E.
- Icarus, Vol. 153, Issue 1
Planned Products of the Mars Structure Service for the InSight Mission to Mars
journal, November 2016
- Panning, Mark P.; Lognonné, Philippe; Bruce Banerdt, W.
- Space Science Reviews, Vol. 211, Issue 1-4
Martian surface/near-surface water inventory: Sources, sinks, and changes with time: Martian water
journal, February 2015
- Carr, M. H.; Head, J. W.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 42, Issue 3
Injection-induced seismicity: Poroelastic and earthquake nucleation effects: INJECTION INDUCED SEISMICITY
journal, July 2015
- Segall, P.; Lu, S.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 120, Issue 7
Deep groundwater and potential subsurface habitats beneath an Antarctic dry valley
journal, April 2015
- Mikucki, J. A.; Auken, E.; Tulaczyk, S.
- Nature Communications, Vol. 6, Issue 1
Hydrological modeling of the Martian crust with application to the pressurization of aquifers
journal, January 2005
- Hanna, Jeffrey C.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 110, Issue E1
Improved estimate of tidal dissipation within Mars from MOLA observations of the shadow of Phobos
journal, January 2005
- Bills, Bruce G.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 110, Issue E7
Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars
journal, September 2015
- Ojha, Lujendra; Wilhelm, Mary Beth; Murchie, Scott L.
- Nature Geoscience, Vol. 8, Issue 11
Tidal Modulation of Nonvolcanic Tremor
journal, January 2008
- Rubinstein, J. L.; La Rocca, M.; Vidale, J. E.
- Science, Vol. 319, Issue 5860
Measurements of thermal properties of icy Mars regolith analogs: THERMAL PROPERTIES OF ICY MARS REGOLITH
journal, March 2012
- Siegler, Matthew; Aharonson, Oded; Carey, Elizabeth
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 117, Issue E3
Fortnightly modulation of San Andreas tremor and low-frequency earthquakes
journal, July 2016
- van der Elst, Nicholas J.; Delorey, Andrew A.; Shelly, David R.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 113, Issue 31
Depth of the Martian cryosphere: Revised estimates and implications for the existence and detection of subpermafrost groundwater
journal, January 2010
- Clifford, Stephen M.; Lasue, Jeremie; Heggy, Essam
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 115, Issue E7
An improved JPL Mars gravity field and orientation from Mars orbiter and lander tracking data
journal, August 2016
- Konopliv, Alex S.; Park, Ryan S.; Folkner, William M.
- Icarus, Vol. 274
Seasonal and static gravity field of Mars from MGS, Mars Odyssey and MRO radio science
journal, July 2016
- Genova, Antonio; Goossens, Sander; Lemoine, Frank G.
- Icarus, Vol. 272
Tectonic pressurization of aquifers in the formation of Mangala and Athabasca Valles, Mars
journal, January 2006
- Hanna, Jeffrey C.; Phillips, Roger J.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue E3
Breathing of the seafloor: Tidal correlations of seismicity at Axial volcano
journal, January 2002
- Tolstoy, Maya; Vernon, Frank L.; Orcutt, John A.
- Geology, Vol. 30, Issue 6
A surface gravity traverse on Mars indicates low bedrock density at Gale crater
journal, January 2019
- Lewis, Kevin W.; Peters, Stephen; Gonter, Kurt
- Science, Vol. 363, Issue 6426
The interior structure of Mars: Implications from SNC meteorites
journal, January 1997
- Sohl, Frank; Spohn, Tilman
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 102, Issue E1
Thermo-physical properties of selected hard rocks and their relation to microwave-assisted comminution
journal, May 2016
- Hartlieb, P.; Toifl, M.; Kuchar, F.
- Minerals Engineering, Vol. 91
A Systematic Assessment of the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Fault Activation Through Induced Seismicity in Oklahoma and Southern Kansas: Induced Seismicity Evolution in Oklahoma
journal, December 2017
- Schoenball, Martin; Ellsworth, William L.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 122, Issue 12
Observations and modeling of northern mid-latitude recurring slope lineae (RSL) suggest recharge by a present-day martian briny aquifer
journal, February 2016
- Stillman, David E.; Michaels, Timothy I.; Grimm, Robert E.
- Icarus, Vol. 265
Friction of rocks
journal, January 1978
- Byerlee, J.
- Pure and Applied Geophysics PAGEOPH, Vol. 116, Issue 4-5
On the secular retention of ground water and ice on Mars: Mars Ice Retention
journal, January 2017
- Grimm, Robert E.; Harrison, Keith P.; Stillman, David E.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 122, Issue 1
Pressurized oceans and the eruption of liquid water on Europa and Enceladus
journal, January 2007
- Manga, M.; Wang, C. -Y.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 34, Issue 7
Predicted detection rates of regional-scale meteorite impacts on Mars with the InSight short-period seismometer
journal, August 2015
- Teanby, N. A.
- Icarus, Vol. 256
Early Mars hydrology: 2. Hydrological evolution in the Noachian and Hesperian epochs
journal, January 2011
- Andrews-Hanna, Jeffrey C.; Lewis, Kevin W.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 116, Issue E2
A constitutive law for rate of earthquake production and its application to earthquake clustering
journal, February 1994
- Dieterich, James
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Vol. 99, Issue B2
Water on Mars, With a Grain of Salt: Local Heat Anomalies Are Required for Basal Melting of Ice at the South Pole Today
journal, February 2019
- Sori, Michael M.; Bramson, Ali M.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 46, Issue 3
Fluid Injection and Time-Dependent Seismic Hazard in the Barnett Shale, Texas
journal, May 2018
- Zhai, Guang; Shirzaei, Manoochehr
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 45, Issue 10
Tharsis recharge: A source of groundwater for Martian outflow channels
journal, January 2004
- Harrison, K. P.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 31, Issue 14
Present-day heat flow model of Mars
journal, April 2017
- Parro, Laura M.; Jiménez-Díaz, Alberto; Mansilla, Federico
- Scientific Reports, Vol. 7, Issue 1
New observations of martian southern mid-latitude recurring slope lineae (RSL) imply formation by freshwater subsurface flows
journal, May 2014
- Stillman, David E.; Michaels, Timothy I.; Grimm, Robert E.
- Icarus, Vol. 233
A Prediction of Mars Seismicity from Surface Faulting
journal, November 1992
- Golombek, M. P.; Banerdt, W. B.; Tanaka, K. L.
- Science, Vol. 258, Issue 5084
Floods on Mars released from groundwater by impact
journal, June 2005
- Wang, Chi-yuen; Manga, Michael; Wong, Alex
- Icarus, Vol. 175, Issue 2
How large are present-day heat flux variations across the surface of Mars?: MARS HEAT FLUX
journal, December 2016
- Plesa, A. -C.; Grott, M.; Tosi, N.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 121, Issue 12
Lunar seismicity and tectonics
journal, June 1977
- Lammlein, David R.
- Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, Vol. 14, Issue 3
Evidence for stabilization of the ice-cemented cryosphere in earlier martian history: Implications for the current abundance of groundwater at depth on Mars
journal, May 2017
- Weiss, David K.; Head, James W.
- Icarus, Vol. 288
Geology and Physical Properties Investigations by the InSight Lander
journal, June 2018
- Golombek, M.; Grott, M.; Kargl, G.
- Space Science Reviews, Vol. 214, Issue 5
Martian satellite orbits and ephemerides
journal, November 2014
- Jacobson, R. A.; Lainey, V.
- Planetary and Space Science, Vol. 102
The Evolution of the Martian Hydrosphere: Implications for the Fate of a Primordial Ocean and the Current State of the Northern Plains
journal, November 2001
- Clifford, S.
- Icarus, Vol. 154, Issue 1
The spatial footprint of injection wells in a global compilation of induced earthquake sequences
journal, August 2018
- Goebel, Thomas H. W.; Brodsky, Emily E.
- Science, Vol. 361, Issue 6405
Thermal evolution and Urey ratio of Mars: MARS UREY RATIO
journal, May 2015
- Plesa, A. -C.; Tosi, N.; Grott, M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 120, Issue 5
Earthquake triggering and large-scale geologic storage of carbon dioxide
journal, June 2012
- Zoback, M. D.; Gorelick, S. M.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 109, Issue 26
Considerations for effusive cryovolcanism on Europa: The post-Galileo perspective: CRYOVOLCANISM ON EUROPA
journal, December 2003
- Fagents, Sarah A.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 108, Issue E12
Working models for spatial distribution and level of Mars' seismicity
journal, January 2006
- Knapmeyer, M.; Oberst, J.; Hauber, E.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 111, Issue E11
Sharp increase in central Oklahoma seismicity since 2008 induced by massive wastewater injection
journal, July 2014
- Keranen, K. M.; Weingarten, M.; Abers, G. A.
- Science, Vol. 345, Issue 6195
Can freezing cause floods on Mars?
journal, January 2006
- Wang, Chi-yuen; Manga, Michael; Hanna, Jeffrey C.
- Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 33, Issue 20
Formation of Martian gullies by the action of liquid water flowing under current Martian environmental conditions
journal, January 2005
- Heldmann, Jennifer L.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 110, Issue E5
Formation of lenticulae on Europa by saucer-shaped sills
journal, April 2017
- Manga, Michael; Michaut, Chloé
- Icarus, Vol. 286
Recent gullies on Mars and the source of liquid water
journal, October 2001
- Mellon, Michael T.; Phillips, Roger J.
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 106, Issue E10
Slow Earthquakes and Nonvolcanic Tremor
journal, May 2011
- Beroza, Gregory C.; Ide, Satoshi
- Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Vol. 39, Issue 1
A model for the hydrologic and climatic behavior of water on Mars
journal, January 1993
- Clifford, Stephen M.
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 98, Issue E6
Evidence for Recent Groundwater Seepage and Surface Runoff on Mars
journal, June 2000
- Malin, M. C.
- Science, Vol. 288, Issue 5475
Surface uplift and time-dependent seismic hazard due to fluid injection in eastern Texas
journal, September 2016
- Shirzaei, M.; Ellsworth, W. L.; Tiampo, K. F.
- Science, Vol. 353, Issue 6306