The Day Mars Exploded...

Been studying plate tectonics again, this time in concert with the georeactor theory. Got to thinking: if Mars' georeactor quit before the Earth's due to its smaller mass, what would happen to Mars' ocean as the hydrologic cycle shut down due to lack of internal planetary heat?

The ocean itself would subduct. Go under. Down the drain.

Valles Marineris looks rather like it was a drain.

Now if this happened, there would remain a small, molten, hot, reactive core for many aeons.

What would happen when the ocean hit the core?

I think that's where the missing 3000 feet of crust on half the planet went.

In shorthand, 'Ocean + Dying Georeactor = Exploding Planet...'

Could a steam explosion rip the crust off half a planet?

Wow that must be a great Theory especialy from a Sientific view!!!
I can only imagine the whole scenerio & if water did go rushing to the core I would imagine it lwould be like a huge sauna, a massive steam room.
I belive if that was possible and it happen here all living things would be steamed to death.

"Anyone for some steamed Rice?"

[edit on 28-2-2005 by 2ndSEED]

I guess that would be possible.
Very interesting theory to say the least.

Hae we been able to date some of the geological feutures on the surface ? Theyy shouldn't be older than the time the crust would have been blown away...

If mars ever explodes, it would hit us of course wouldnt it? and if no life was on it, instead of everyone getting steamed to death, the steam would go into the cooler atmosphere and turn back into water and it would raind and it would be like a big cycle making a rainhouse effect maybe wouldnt it?

Schmidt1989

Originally posted by Chakotay
Been studying plate tectonics again, this time in concert with the georeactor theory. Got to thinking: if Mars' georeactor quit before the Earth's due to its smaller mass, what would happen to Mars' ocean as the hydrologic cycle shut down due to lack of internal planetary heat?

Well, Mars doesn't have an ocean.

The composition of the planet and its core is different than the Earth's:
www.space.com...

And it's so cool that for a long time it was thought that the core was not liquid at all:
csep10.phys.utk.edu...

The ocean itself would subduct. Go under. Down the drain.

But not for long.

Remember Yellowstone Park? Water seeps down towards the core of the earth. After it gets down far enough, it gets so hot that it turns to steam and explodes back upwards. It never makes it to the core because the temperature's raised to the boiling point LONG before it gets even a few miles down.

And with the atmospheric pressure on Mars being a fraction of what it is on Earth, water would boil at a MUCH lower temperature.

I think that's where the missing 3000 feet of crust on half the planet went.

In shorthand, 'Ocean + Dying Georeactor = Exploding Planet...'

Could a steam explosion rip the crust off half a planet?

Noooope.

Originally posted by Chakotay

[................. .....]

I think that's where the missing 3000 feet of crust on half the planet went.

In shorthand, 'Ocean + Dying Georeactor = Exploding Planet...'

Could a steam explosion rip the crust off half a planet?

could very well have been an 'exploding planet'
but maybe the exploding-planet wasn't Mars
maybe it was planet V, remnants are astroid belt today.

the EPH (Exploding Planet Hypothesis) theorizes that Mars was once a moon
and perhaps the liquid water, erosions, missing mass etc is a only
debris from the former, nearby planet "V"explosion

the evolution on Mars you suggest is compatible with the solar systems evolution we generally accept nowadays... we tend to compare & model everything with our Earths historical model as the 'norm'
That 'possible' outgassing explosion would be a 'punctuated evolution' phase...which our scientists are still debating on...

thanks for the thought provoking post

Originally posted by St Udio
could very well have been an 'exploding planet'
but maybe the exploding-planet wasn't Mars
maybe it was planet V, remnants are astroid belt today.

There's just one problem for forming of bigger planetoid in orbit of asteroid belt... gravity of nearby Jupiter.
So most propably there never was any bigger planet in place of asteroid belt because of Jupiter's gravity.

It has been estimated that the total mass of the Main Asteroid Belt may total less than 1/1000th of the mass of the Earth. Indeed, if all asteroids down to the size of meter- or yard-sized boulders or less were combined together, the resulting object would measure less than 1,300 to 1,500 km (810 to 930 miles) across, which is less than one third to one half the diameter of the Earth's Moon. The Main Asteroid Belt is only a small remnant of the material that once resided in the region...
However, T-Tauri-type Solar winds from a very young Sun, gravitational perturbations from Jupiter developing nearby... caused most of the mass to be lost to the rest of the Solar System and interstellar space.

www.solstation.com...

The fact that we "kind of know" the physical traits of the Martian core, should not completely rule out Chakotay's theory.

Being a smaller planet, with some differences in composition, there is no way, that we could know how the planet is layered. Being a smaller body,
there may have been differences in the solidification. Maybe a thicker crust, with a thinner mantle. Maybe a VERY thin Mantle, seperating the crust from the Core. Hard to tell.

Scientists also think, that the Earth took a pounding, from a large body, while It's layers were still being formed, now THAT will shake your pudding!
It can also form a Moon..our Moon.. Mars does not have a large moon, maybe it was missed by the larger Bodies out there.

Earth has a crust, a mantle , and two layers of core. WE THINK..
All of this information is inferred. Through, siesmic measurements, gravitational measurements. We really don't know for sure. AND WE LIVE HERE!

I like Chakotays theory, it's interesting..Shows that someone is thinking outside the box...AND,,,,,it reminds me of POPCORN..

Originally posted by Terapin
I guess I missed the lecture at school thay day... please tell me more about the missing 3000 feet of crust on half of Mars.

Thanks for all the great posts. Byrd, of course there is no visible ocean now- I am talking about the far past. It was far wetter in the past- we believe. Your analysis of percolation is exactly what I am talking about. Remember 'bumping' test tubes?

Spacedoubt, popcorn is exactly what I am thinking. BAM!

Mars has a hemispheric asymmetery- roughly 2/3 of the planet is higher above sea level than the remaining 1/3. This would make sense if the depressed regions of the planet were covered with water in the past. Mars never broke up into smaller continents like Earth did, and the highlands form what could have been a supercontinent like Pangaea on Earth. There have been suggestions that an impactor almost cut Mars in two. But I think Mars might have been its own creator- in this instance.

As the core cooled, and the ocean drained inwards, there could have been a heck of a burp. Before it froze.

I think we may find that Nix Olympica is/was more of a geyser mudcone than what we think of as stratovolcanoes here on Earth. At Mars surface temperatures, mud would be roughly equivalent to what we know as lava here on Earth.

What I'm getting at, is that as an ocean planet cools, vulcanism does not immediately stop. In fact, in the early phases it can increase in violence. I think a bunch of the debris from what might have been a series of outbursts went suborbital and increased the height of the highlands, whilst covering the planet with sand, dust, and volcanic bombs.

Krakatau blew up on Earth when seawater drained into the magma chamber. Steam explosions can be incredibly violent.

I like thinking with you all. That is why CERN gave us the Net for- to advance physics through universal participation.

Wanna take a mudbath on Mars? It might not be completely dead- volcanism wise.

Originally posted by Chakotay
Mars has a hemispheric asymmetery- roughly 2/3 of the planet is higher above sea level than the remaining 1/3.

So also half of our planet misses ~3 km of crust. (deep oceans)
And remember that also moon is very unsymmetric with earth side having lot of Mares and far side almost completely made from cratered terrain.

Also matter ejected from Hellas impact basin forms cosiderable part of highlands around it.

I think a bunch of the debris from what might have been a series of outbursts went suborbital and increased the height of the highlands

Not very propable. Energy/heat required for that would mean planet would be already "coming apart" with volcanoes popping up everywhere, remember that rocks have only certain strength before vreaking (which also limits magnitude of possible earthquakes) but with asteroid/comet impacts only limiting factor is size and speed of impactor.

I think we may find that Nix Olympica is/was more of a geyser mudcone than what we think of as stratovolcanoes here on Earth.

Wrong type, Saint Helens, Mt. Rainier and rest of Cascade volcanoes are stratovolcanoes with steep slopes and ash producing violent eruptions, Olympus Mons is like Hawaiian shield volcano with gentle slopes, long lasting calm eruptions producing lot of lava... lack of tectonic processes has just enabled it to grow so huge.

Krakatau blew up on Earth when seawater drained into the magma chamber. Steam explosions can be incredibly violent.

Released energy was only in class of 150 megatons.
www.drgeorgepc.com...

www.otago.ac.nz...

FCI explosions are fascinating, I have been learnign about them over the last few days and the affect on volcanic eruptions, man made or otherwise.

I don't understand a word you guys are saying.

If mars did have liguid properties of water it could have been the result of the explosion of the sun which melted away all ice at the pole and various other regions and subsequently created rivers and oceans of water until the sun's power cooled off allowing the water to freeze into ice at the cap and having the rest subduct possibly.