The 1:1,000,000-Scale Geology of Western Libya Montes and Northwestern Tyrrhena Terra

Alexandra Huff and James Skinner, Jr.

Astrogeology Science Center U. S. Geological Survey Planetary Geologic Mappers Meeting 2017 Quadrangle Location

• 6 MTM quads covering the highland lowland transition from Tyrrhena Terra to • Improved understanding of this area will provide insight into the evolution of ancient highlands Previous Mapping

• USGS maps • 1:20M Global Map (Tanaka et al., 2014) • 1:15M Eastern Region of ( and Guest, 1987) • 1:5M (Meyer and Grolier, 1977) • 1:5M Iapygia Quadrangle (Schaber, 1977)

• Topic-based Maps • Crumpler and Tanaka, 2003 (blue) • Jaumann et al., 2010 (red) • Bishop et al., 2013 (purple)

Regional geology questions: How many massif units are there? How many channelization periods were there? What is the history of the intermediate cratered plains?

PGM2017 Abstract #7112 Our Map

Purpose: We are filling this scale-based gap in understanding by assembling a 1:1M scale geologic map to bridge existing global and local schemata.

• Methodology • 1:250,000 mapping scale • THEMIS Daytime IR base map • Supplemented with MOLA, CTX, and THEMIS Nighttime IR data sets Unit Mapping: Grouping

• 4 Unit Groups • Impact crater units (blue) • Older massif group (brown) • Intermediate-aged terra group (tan) • Younger plains group () Unit Mapping: Impact Crater Units

Crater Unit 1/ Crater Units Smooth Crater Infill Crater Unit 2 Crater Unit 3 Differentiated

c2 c3 c1

cs Unit Mapping: Massif Units

Massif 1 Massif 2

m1

m2 Unit Mapping: Terra Units

Terra 1 Terra 2 Terra 3

t1

t3

t2 Unit Mapping: Plains Units

Plains 1 Plains 2 Plains 3

p2

p3

p1 Unit Mapping: Plains Units

Rough Plains Etched Plains

pe

pr Unit Relationships: Massif and Terra

Oenotria Plana

Oenotria Scopuli Unit Relationships: Massif and Terra

m2 t1

t1 m2 Unit Relationships: Syrtis Major embaying Libya Montes

Libya Montes

Syrtis Major Planum Unit Relationships: Syrtis Major embaying Libya Montes Unit Relationships: Syrtis Major embaying Libya Montes

p3 p3 Unit Relationships: Etched Plains

pe pe

p2

pe

p2 Unit Relationships: Etched Plains Unit Relationships: Etched Plains Geologic Sequence

Up-thrown massifs that are then eroded and subsequently embayed. • Highlands formation • Isidis impact • Erosion and dissection of terra units • Dissection of Libya Montes • Embayment of plains 3 Final Steps

Goal: Submit for review by end of July • Clarify problem areas • Integrate contact and linear feature unit boundaries • Compile model crater-dating • Finalize unit correlations • Complete map text • Clean and compile GIS geodatabase Questions?