RESEARCH PORTFOLIO

Highlighted: tidal tomography reveals a thermal anomaly beneath Mars’s crustal dichotomy

Mars undergoes seasonal tidal forcing as a result of its eccentric orbit and the tilt of its rotation axis relative to the Sun. Response to this forcing produces temporal variations in the Martian gravity field and is sensitive to the internal structure of the planet. Using tracking data from the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (ODY) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft, we demonstrate that degree-3 components of the time-variable gravity field of Mars differ by up to 300% from predictions for a spherically symmetric planet. These deviations can be explained if the effective shear modulus of the mantle varies by >20% over a roughly north–south pattern that closely aligns with the surface expression of the Martian crustal dichotomy. On the basis of this correlation, we infer preservation of a 200–400 °C thermal anomaly in the present-day mantle below the southern highlands of Mars. This temperature variation could reflect regional mantle convection or insulation by the thick southern highlands crust of Mars that has persisted over several billion years.