DAGGER : Modelling magma propagation on Earth versus Mars

Mars’ Tharsis region is home to some of the biggest volcanoes in the Solar System, along with long, straight valleys with steep sides—some stretching hundreds of kilometres. These valleys resemble features near active volcanoes on Earth, where molten rock (magma) pushes up from deep underground, cracking the surrounding rocks and sometimes reaching the surface in eruptions. When magma moves upward in a long, narrow sheet, it can deform the crustal rocks and break them along faults, triggering earthquakes, and forming valleys at the surface.

NASA’s InSight mission recently detected small “marsquakes” beneath a valley called Cerberus Fossae, suggesting Mars’ crust may still be shifting—or even hiding pockets of molten magma. Since we can’t study Mars’ underground directly, we use computer models to understand how magma moves underground. But many existing models are too simple and don’t account for how real rocks break—especially important on Mars, where the crust is already fragmented by millions of years of meteorite impacts.

The DAGGER project is developing a new, more realistic model to study how magma spreads through fractured rock on both Earth and Mars. Using drone imagery and data from volcanic systems in Iceland—similar to those on Mars—the team will explore how magma behaves in different rock types and under varying gravity. This will help explain how marsquakes might form in places like Cerberus Fossae and improve our understanding of volcanic activity on both planets. Ultimately, DAGGER will shed light on whether Mars is still volcanically active and support better understanding of volcanic activity and hazards here on Earth.