Researchers have identified a substantial temperature imbalance within Mars’s interior, with gravity measurements indicating that the southern hemisphere is approximately 200 to 400 degrees Celsius hotter than the northern region and may contain partially molten material. The discovery provides new perspective on the Red Planet’s geological development and periods when conditions suitable for life may have existed.
The study, led by Alexander Berne of the University of Arizona and published August 27 in Nature, employed a novel approach to mapping planetary interiors. Berne developed a model during his graduate work that uses subtle gravitational variations to determine internal planetary structure. Researchers analyzed decades of observational data from three Mars-orbiting spacecraft: Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. By measuring minute changes in spacecraft velocities, the team reconstructed Mars’s gravitational field and applied a technique called tidal tomography to study how gravitational signatures fluctuate with the planet’s seasons, ultimately creating a three-dimensional model of the interior.
Mars has long exhibited striking surface differences between its hemispheres, with the south characterized by tall mountains and extensive impact craters while the north features broad, low plains. The new findings suggest this contrast extends significantly deeper. The thermal disparity in Mars’s interior could explain several previously puzzling observations, including unusual magnetic signatures detected in iron-rich southern minerals and seismic wave behavior recorded by NASA’s InSight mission.
Understanding this temperature difference may illuminate Mars’s hydrological evolution and ancient water systems. During periods when liquid water potentially existed on the surface, the thermal characteristics of different regions could have influenced basin formation and water distribution. Researchers have not yet determined the anomaly’s origin, though several explanations remain viable, including a massive ancient impact in the northern region, convection processes in the southern mantle, or thick geological formations that trapped heat in the south.
The research involved collaborators from multiple institutions internationally and received funding from NASA.
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