[Rockhounds] Study uncovers first evidence of a volcanic spatter cone on Mars

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

While working under Erika Rader, an assistant professor in the Department
of Earth and Spatial Sciences at University of Idaho, a postdoctoral
researcher identified a volcanic vent on Mars as a potential spatter cone
and compared it to a spatter cone formed during the 2021 eruption of
Fagradalsfjall in Iceland.

The study is published
<https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0019103524003464> in the
journal *Icarus*.

Through a detailed morphological investigation and ballistic modeling, Ian
T.W. Flynn discovered the Martian volcanic feature strongly resembles
spatter cones found on Earth.

"Spatter cones are so common on Earth that it seemed extremely unlikely
that they simply didn't exist on Mars," Rader said. "Since spatter cones
can only form in the right conditions, their presence gives us a benchmark
to shoot for when simulating Martian volcanoes."

Spatter cones are created by hot lumps of flying lava falling to the
surface during explosive volcanic eruptions
<https://phys.org/tags/explosive+volcanic+eruptions/>, specifically during
sustained periods of lava fountaining. They are common features on
Earth—including in Idaho, most notably at Craters of the Moon National
Monument and Preserve—and have long been suspected to be on Mars as well.
However, until now, there wasn't solid evidence of their existence.

https://phys.org/news/2024-09-uncovers-evidence-volcanic-spatter-cone.html