The European Space Agency said an international team using the Trace Gas Orbiter
detected anomalous hydrogen chloride (HCl) concentrations and surface fissures
above Alba Mons on Mars, indicating residual subsurface heat that could support
volcanic activity. In a Science Advances paper the researchers said HCl normally
peaks in the Martian northern winter and disappears in summer, but anomalous HCl
spikes were observed above some Alba Mons fissures in early northern summer;
they hypothesise magmatic gases vent through fractures sealed by winter ice and
released as ice melts, and note lava–groundwater interaction could create
localized warm environments that merit targeted life-detection searches.
