Active crustal straining and fault reactivation at Valles Marineris

Abstract

Tectonic deformation on stagnant-lid planets reflects the interaction between long-lived lithospheric structures and evolving stress fields. Whether the ancient tectonic fabrics can localise present-day seismic failure under contemporary stress fields remains poorly tested by direct geophysical observations. Here we show that the farside seismic event, S0976a, detected by InSight in the western hemisphere is a marsquake that occurred in Valles Marineris and involved strike-slip faulting in the deep crust. The stress orientation inferred from the focal mechanism is consistent with reactivation of pre-existing fault systems under a present-day stress field shaped primarily by long-term planetary cooling, regional Tharsis-related loading, and surface erosion-related local unloading. These observations provide direct seismic evidence that inherited fault systems on Mars can remain mechanically favourable for reactivation over billion-year timescales, suggesting that slip on deeply rooted faults remains a key mechanism of long-term strain release in a cooling single-lid planet. Valles Marineris, the Solar System’s largest canyon, is tectonically active today. A marsquake beneath it was traced to deep fault slip, showing billion-year-old faults can still rupture on Mars.