ETH Zurich Earthquake scientist, Simon Stähler and colleagues were presented with the 2023 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Newcomb Cleveland Prize for their paper on "Seismic Detection of the Martian Core" published in the prestigious journal, Science.
A Seismology and Geodynamics lecturer at ETH Zurich, Simon Stähler's work is literally out of this world! Using state-of-the-art seismometers, he has studied Earthquake tremors everywhere - from the ocean floor to the world's bridges. In 2019, however, Stähler joined the Marsquake Service - a team that monitored the daily seismic activity transmitted from Mars.
Clues to Mars' Geological History
As part of a collaboration of international researchers, Stähler examined daily transmissions from the Mars InSight Mission's seismometer, SEIS - short for "Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure." Arguably the most sensitive seismometer ever developed, SEIS is able to tune in to tremors smaller than a hydrogen atom revealing clues to the geological history and interior structure of the red planet. From reflections of seismic waves from the core-mantle boundary of Mars, the team was able to determine that Mars has a large core. A large core implies a mantle that is mineralogically similar to Earth's upper mantle and transition zone. However, Mars differs from Earth in terms of its core. The Martian core is much less dense implying a number of light elements such as oxygen and sulfur dissolved in the iron-nickel core. This observation is hard to reconcile with classic formation models of the planet.
AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize
Every year hundreds of ground-breaking research papers are published in the journal, Science, but only one is selected for the prestigious AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the American Association for the Advancement of Science's oldest award. The prize-winning paper is chosen based on the quality of the scholarship, innovation, presentation, likelihood of influencing the field, and wider interdisciplinary significance.
On 2 March 2023, the board of directors for the AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington DC awarded Simon Stähler and co-authors the 2023 AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize for their paper on "Seismic detection of the Martian core" published in the journal, Science in July 2021. Supported by The Fodor Family Trust, Stähler received a prize award of USD 25,000.
The researchers decided to donate proceeds of the cash prize to the disaster fund of Medécins sans frontiers in light of the recent, devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
