DOCSLIB.ORG

University of Nevada, Reno Analysis of the Mars Northern Seasonal

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
University of Nevada, Reno Analysis of the Mars Northern Seasonal University of Nevada, Reno Analysis of the Mars Northern Seasonal Polar Cap Asymmetry in Conjunction with Recession A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Geophysics and the Honors Program By Victoria Auerbach Dr. Wendy Calvin, Thesis Advisor May, 2020 UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA THE HONORS PROGRAM RENO We recommend that the thesis prepared under our supervision by Victoria Auerbach entitled Analysis of the Mars Northern Seasonal Polar Cap Asymmetry in Conjunction with Recession be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of BACHELOR OF SCIENCE, GEOPHYSICS ______________________________________________ Wendy Calvin, Ph.D., Thesis Advisor ______________________________________________ Matthew Means, P.S., Director, Honors Program May, 2020 i Abstract Mars’ seasonal polar caps undergo a constant cycling throughout a single Martian year. These processes are dynamic and important aspects that showcase interactions between Mars’ weather, atmosphere, and surface activity. The rate at which CO2 sublimates from the seasonal ice sheet and into the atmosphere has been seen to remain fairly consistent between a variety of Mars years through the creation of an inter-annual climatological model. The cap itself, however, has been observed to retreat in an asymmetric fashion. We plan to utilize Mars topography data collected from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter in order to find a link between the observed quicker or slower recession of the seasonal CO2 cap and the local elevation. Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to Dr. Wendy Calvin for her incredible guidance throughout my undergraduate career. This project would not have existed without her. Thank you for inspiring me and making my dreams become reality. Thank you to the Honors Program for allowing me to create this work as one of my first published scientific writings and for guidance provided throughout my undergraduate career. Thank you to the Undergraduate Research Office for funding through the Honors Undergraduate Research Award (HURA). Finally, thank you to the many inspiring professors I have had the pleasure of learning from throughout my time as an undergraduate, and thank you to the University of Nevada, Reno for inspiring me to work hard and always continue learning. ii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. i List of Figures .................................................................................................................... iii Lists and Tables ................................................................................................................. iv Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 6 Phase I – Determining the Inter-annual Recession Rate for MY 31-34 ........................... 11 1. Determining Recession Rate ..................................................................................... 11 2. Comparison of Techniques ....................................................................................... 19 3. Upon Further Inspection ........................................................................................... 21 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 23 Tie Point and MATLAB Compilation Procedure ......................................................... 23 Determining How to Section the ROIs ......................................................................... 25 Sectioning the ROIs ...................................................................................................... 29 Results ............................................................................................................................... 30 Discussion and Conclusions ............................................................................................. 42 Interpretations ............................................................................................................... 42 Sources of Error ............................................................................................................ 44 Future Work .................................................................................................................. 46 References ......................................................................................................................... 48 Appendix A ....................................................................................................................... 51 iii List of Figures Figure 1: MY 34 Recession Images .................................................................................. 15 Figure 2: Code Used to Translate ROI Data into Average Latitude ................................. 16 Figure 3: ROI Sketch ........................................................................................................ 17 Figure 4: Recession Rates ................................................................................................. 18 Figure 5: Climatological Model ........................................................................................ 20 Figure 6: Longitude Separation ........................................................................................ 26 Figure 7: Mars Latitude and Longitude Orientations ....................................................... 28 Figure 8: MY 31, Ls 55..................................................................................................... 32 Figure 9: MY 31, Ls 60..................................................................................................... 33 Figure 10: MY 31, Ls 65................................................................................................... 34 Figure 11: MY 31, Ls 70................................................................................................... 35 Figure 12: MY 31, Ls 75................................................................................................... 36 Figure 13: MY 31, Ls 80................................................................................................... 37 Figure 14: Ls 55 Histogram .............................................................................................. 38 Figure 15: Ls 60 Histogram .............................................................................................. 39 Figure 16: Ls 65 Histogram .............................................................................................. 39 Figure 17: Ls 70 Histogram .............................................................................................. 40 Figure 18: Ls 75 Histogram .............................................................................................. 40 Figure 19: Ls 80 Histogram .............................................................................................. 41 Figure 20: Altitude vs. Temperature Comparison ............................................................ 43 Figure 21: Ls 55 Section 1 Histogram .............................................................................. 51 Figure 22: Ls 55 Section 2 Histogram .............................................................................. 51 Figure 23: Ls 55 Section 3 Histogram .............................................................................. 51 Figure 24: Ls 60 Section 1 Histogram .............................................................................. 52 Figure 25: Ls 60 Section 2 Histogram .............................................................................. 52 Figure 26: Ls 60 Section 3 Histogram .............................................................................. 52 Figure 27: Ls 65 Section 1 Histogram .............................................................................. 53 Figure 28: Ls 65 Section 2 Histogram .............................................................................. 53 Figure 29: Ls 65 Section 3 Histogram .............................................................................. 53 Figure 30: Ls 70 Section 1 Histogram .............................................................................. 54 Figure 31: Ls 70 Section 2 Histogram .............................................................................. 54 Figure 32: Ls 70 Section 3 Histogram .............................................................................. 54 Figure 33: Ls 75 Section 1 Histogram .............................................................................. 55 Figure 34: Ls 75 Section 2 Histogram .............................................................................. 55 Figure 35: Ls 75 Section 3 Histogram .............................................................................. 55 Figure 36: Ls 80 Section 1 Histogram .............................................................................. 56 Figure 37: Ls 80 Section 2 Histogram .............................................................................. 56 Figure 38: Ls 80 Section 3 Histogram .............................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Curiosity's Candidate Field Site in Gale Crater, Mars
    Curiosity’s Candidate Field Site in Gale Crater, Mars K. S. Edgett – 27 September 2010 Simulated view from Curiosity rover in landing ellipse looking toward the field area in Gale; made using MRO CTX stereopair images; no vertical exaggeration. The mound is ~15 km away 4th MSL Landing Site Workshop, 27–29 September 2010 in this view. Note that one would see Gale’s SW wall in the distant background if this were Edgett, 1 actually taken by the Mastcams on Mars. Gale Presents Perhaps the Thickest and Most Diverse Exposed Stratigraphic Section on Mars • Gale’s Mound appears to present the thickest and most diverse exposed stratigraphic section on Mars that we can hope access in this decade. • Mound has ~5 km of stratified rock. (That’s 3 miles!) • There is no evidence that volcanism ever occurred in Gale. • Mound materials were deposited as sediment. • Diverse materials are present. • Diverse events are recorded. – Episodes of sedimentation and lithification and diagenesis. – Episodes of erosion, transport, and re-deposition of mound materials. 4th MSL Landing Site Workshop, 27–29 September 2010 Edgett, 2 Gale is at ~5°S on the “north-south dichotomy boundary” in the Aeolis and Nepenthes Mensae Region base map made by MSSS for National Geographic (February 2001); from MOC wide angle images and MOLA topography 4th MSL Landing Site Workshop, 27–29 September 2010 Edgett, 3 Proposed MSL Field Site In Gale Crater Landing ellipse - very low elevation (–4.5 km) - shown here as 25 x 20 km - alluvium from crater walls - drive to mound Anderson & Bell
    [Show full text]
  • Turbulence and Aeolian Morphodynamics in Craters on Mars: Application to Gale Crater, Landing Site of the Curiosity Rover
    16TH EUROPEAN TURBULENCE CONFERENCE, 21-24 AUGUST, 2017, STOCKHOLM,SWEDEN TURBULENCE AND AEOLIAN MORPHODYNAMICS IN CRATERS ON MARS: APPLICATION TO GALE CRATER, LANDING SITE OF THE CURIOSITY ROVER William Anderson1, Gary Kocurek2 & Kenzie Day2 1Mechanical Engineering Dept., Univ. Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas, USA 2Dept. Geological Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, Univ. Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA Mars is a dry planet with a thin atmosphere. Aeolian processes – wind-driven mobilization of sediment and dust – are the dominant mode of landscape variability on the dessicated landscapes of Mars. Craters are common topographic features on the surface of Mars, and many craters on Mars contain a prominent central mound (NASA’s Curiosity rover was landed in Gale crater, shown in Figure 1a [1], while Figures 1b and 1c show Henry and Korolev crater, respectively). These mounds are composed of sedimentary fill and, therefore, they contain rich information on the evolution of climatic conditions on Mars embodied in the stratigraphic “layering” of sediments. Many other craters no longer house a mound, but contain sediment and dust from which dune fields and other features form (see, for example, Victoria Crater, Figure 1d). Using density-normalized large-eddy simulations, we have modeled turbulent flows over crater-like topographies that feature a central mound. Resultant datasets suggest a deflationary mechanism wherein vortices shed from the upwind crater rim are realigned to conform to the crater profile via stretching and tilting. This was accomplished using three- dimensional datasets (momentum and vorticity) retrieved from LES. As a result, helical vortices occupy the inner region of the crater and, therefore, are primarily responsible for aeolian morphodynamics in the crater (radial katabatic flows are also important to aeolian processes within the crater [2]).
    [Show full text]
  • Exploration of Victoria Crater by the Mars Rover Opportunity
    Exploration of Victoria Crater by the Mars Rover Opportunity The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Squyres, Steven W., Andrew H. Knoll, Raymond E. Arvidson, James W. Ashley, James F. III Bell, Wendy M. Calvin, Philip R. Christensen, et al. 2009. Exploration of Victoria Crater by the Mars rover Opportunity. Science 324(5930): 1058-1061. Published Version doi:10.1126/science.1170355 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3934552 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Open Access Policy Articles, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#OAP Exploration of Victoria Crater by the Rover Opportunity S.W. Squyres1, A.H. Knoll2, R.E. Arvidson3, J.W. Ashley4, J.F. Bell III1, W.M. Calvin5, P.R. Christensen4, B.C. Clark6, B.A. Cohen7, P.A. de Souza Jr.8, L. Edgar9, W.H. Farrand10, I. Fleischer11, R. Gellert12, M.P. Golombek13, J. Grant14, J. Grotzinger9, A. Hayes9, K.E. Herkenhoff15, J.R. Johnson15, B. Jolliff3, G. Klingelhöfer11, A. Knudson4, R. Li16, T.J. McCoy17, S.M. McLennan18, D.W. Ming19, D.W. Mittlefehldt19, R.V. Morris19, J.W. Rice Jr.4, C. Schröder11, R.J. Sullivan1, A. Yen13, R.A. Yingst20 1 Dept. of Astronomy, Space Sciences Bldg., Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA 2 Botanical Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138, USA 3 Dept.
    [Show full text]
  • Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Opportunity Observations Of
    PUBLICATIONS Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets RESEARCH ARTICLE Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Opportunity 10.1002/2014JE004686 observations of the Burns formation: Crater Key Point: hopping at Meridiani Planum • Hydrated Mg and Ca sulfate Burns formation minerals mapped with MRO R. E. Arvidson1, J. F. Bell III2, J. G. Catalano1, B. C. Clark3, V. K. Fox1, R. Gellert4, J. P. Grotzinger5, and MER data E. A. Guinness1, K. E. Herkenhoff6, A. H. Knoll7, M. G. A. Lapotre5, S. M. McLennan8, D. W. Ming9, R. V. Morris9, S. L. Murchie10, K. E. Powell1, M. D. Smith11, S. W. Squyres12, M. J. Wolff3, and J. J. Wray13 1 2 Correspondence to: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA, School of Earth and Space R. E. Arvidson, Exploration, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA, 3Space Science Institute, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 4Department of [email protected] Physics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, 5Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA, 6U.S. Geological Survey, Astrogeology Science Center, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, 7 8 Citation: Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Department Arvidson, R. E., et al. (2015), Mars of Geosciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York, USA, 9NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, USA, Reconnaissance Orbiter and Opportunity 10Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, Maryland, USA, 11NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, observations of the Burns formation: Greenbelt, Maryland, USA, 12Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA, 13School of Earth and Crater hopping at Meridiani Planum, J.
    [Show full text]
  • LAYERED SULFATE-BEARING TERRAINS on MARS: INSIGHTS from GALE CRATER and MERIDIANI PLANUM. K.E. Powell1,2, R.E. Arvidson3, and C.S
    Ninth International Conference on Mars 2019 (LPI Contrib. No. 2089) 6316.pdf LAYERED SULFATE-BEARING TERRAINS ON MARS: INSIGHTS FROM GALE CRATER AND MERIDIANI PLANUM. K.E. Powell1,2, R.E. Arvidson3, and C.S. Edwards1, 1Department of Physics & Astrono- my, Northern Arizona University, 2School of Earth & Space Exploration, Arizona State University, 3Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis. Introduction: Sulfate species have been detected ronment, with episodes of diagenesis and weathering in late Noachian and Hesperian terrains on Mars lying to form a crystalline hematite lag deposit [4, 5]. The stratigraphically above clay minerals, which has been lag deposit masks the CRISM spectral signature of interpreted as documenting a shift from wetter to more sulfate in most locations. Sulfate minerals including arid environments on the surface. Sulfate detections kieserite and gypsum have been detected in impact are associated with layered deposits in numerous loca- crater walls and windswept regions [6]. The Oppor- tions including Gale Crater, Meridiani Planum, Vallis tunity rover explored southern Meridiani Planum Marineris, and Terra Sirenum, and Aram Chaos [1]. through a campaign of crater-hopping, using craters as These sulfates and clays been identified using their a natural drill to expose strata [6]. The deepest expo- diagnostic absorption features in visible and near- sures explored by Opportunity directly are ~10 meters infrared reflectance (VNIR) data acquired from Mars thick at Victoria Crater. Opportunity results indicate orbit. Additionally, two rover missions have explored that the top layers of Burns formation contain up to sites with massive sulfate deposits. The first, the MER 40% sulfate and included Mg, Ca, and Fe species.
    [Show full text]
  • GRAIL Reveals Secrets of the Lunar Interior
    GRAIL Reveals Secrets of the Lunar Interior — Dr. Patrick J. McGovern, Lunar and Planetary Institute A mini-flotilla of spacecraft sent to the Moon in the past few years by several nations has revealed much about the characteristics of the lunar surface via techniques such as imaging, spectroscopy, and laser ranging. While the achievements of these missions have been impressive, only GRAIL has seen deeply enough to reveal inner secrets that the Moon holds. LRecent Lunar Missions Country Name Launch Date Status ESA Small Missions for Advanced September 27, 2003 Ended with lunar surface impact on Research in Technology-1 (SMART-1) September 3, 2006 USA Acceleration, Reconnection, February 27, 2007 Extension of the THEMIS mission; ended Turbulence and Electrodynamics of in 2012 the Moon’s Interaction with the Sun (ARTEMIS) Japan SELENE (Kaguya) September 14, 2007 Ended with lunar surface impact on June 10, 2009 PChina Chang’e-1 October 24, 2007 Taken out of orbit on March 1, 2009 India Chandrayaan-1 October 22, 2008 Two-year mission; ended after 315 days due to malfunction and loss of contact USA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) June 18, 2009 Completed one-year primary mission; now in five-year extended mission USA Lunar Crater Observation and June 18, 2009 Ended with lunar surface impact on Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) October 9, 2009 China Chang’e-2 October 1, 2010 Primary mission lasted for six months; extended mission completed flyby of asteroid 4179 Toutatis in December 2012 USA Gravity Recovery and Interior September 10, 2011 Ended with lunar surface impact on I Laboratory (GRAIL) December 17, 2012 To probe deeper, NASA launched the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) mission: twin spacecraft (named “Ebb” and “Flow” by elementary school students from Montana) flying in formation over the lunar surface, tracking each other to within a sensitivity of 50 nanometers per second, or one- twenty-thousandth of the velocity that a snail moves [1], according to GRAIL Principal Investigator Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
    [Show full text]
  • Terrestrial Planets 1- 4 from the Sun Mercury in Sight
    Terrestrial Planets 1- 4 from the Sun Image courtesy: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Terrestrial_planet_size_comparisons_edit.jpg First ever ‘whole Earth’ picture from deep space, taken by Bill Anders on Apollo 8 Apollo 8 crew, Bill Anders centre: courtesy Nasa Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are four The Earth is just a planet astonishingly different planets Mercury and Venus have only been seen in any detail within the last 30 years Mercury in sight Mercury Mercury is like the Earth inside and the Moon outside Courtesy NASA (Mariner 10) Mercury has had a cooling and bombardment history Mercury is visible only soon after the setting similar to the moon sun or shortly before dawn It appears as cratered lava the Mariner 10 probe (1974/75) is the source of most information about Mercury – Messenger, launched 2004, with scarps first flypast in 2008 and orbit Mercury in 2011. ESA’s Its rocks are Earth-like BepiColombo, to be launched in 2013 Mariner 10 image Messenger images Messenger image ↑ Double-ringed crater – a Mercury feature courtesy: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/pics/S trom02.jpg ← Courtesy: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gal lery/sciencePhotos/pics/EN010 8828161M.jpg Courtesy: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/gallery/sciencePhotos/pics/Prockter06.jpg Messenger image Mercury Close-up Mercury’s topography was formed under stronger The gravity than on the Moon caloris The Caloris basin is an impact crater ~1400 km across, basin is the beneath which is thought to be a dense mass large 2 Mercury’s rotation period is exactly /3 of its orbital circular period of 87.97 days.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lunar Crust: Global Structure and Signature of Major Basins
    JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 101, NO. E7, PAGES 16,841-16,843, JULY 25, 1996 The lunar crust: Global structure and signature of major basins GregoryA. Neumannand Maria T. Zuber1 Departmentof Earth and PlanetarySciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland David E. Smith and Frank G. Lemoine Laboratoryfor TerrestrialPhysics, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center,Greenbelt, Maryland Abstract. New lunar gravityand topography data from the ClementineMission provide a global Bougueranomaly map correctedfor the gravitationalattraction of mare fill in mascon basins.Most of the gravity signalremaining after correctionsfor the attractionof topographyand mare fill can be attributedto variationsin depthto the lunar Moho and thereforecrustal thickness. The large range of global crustalthickness (-20-120 km) is indicativeof major spatialvariations in meltingof the lunar exteriorand/or significant impact-related redistribution. The 61-km averagecrustal thickness, constrained by a depth-to-Mohomeasured during the Apollo 12 and 14 missions,is preferentiallydistributed toward the farside,accounting for much of the offset in center-of-figurefrom the center-of-mass.While the averagefarside thickness is 12 km greaterthan the nearside,the distributionis nonuniform,with dramaticthinning beneath the farside, South Pole-Aitkenbasin. With the globalcrustal thickness map as a constraint,regional inversions of gravityand topographyresolve the crustalstructure of majormascon basins to half wavelengthsof 150 km. In order to yield crustalthickness maps with the maximum horizontalresolution permittedby the data, the downwardcontinuation of the Bouguergravity is stabilizedby a three- dimensional,minimum-slope and curvature algorithm. Both mare and non-marebasins are characterizedby a centralupwarped moho that is surroundedby ringsof thickenedcrust lying mainly within the basinrims. The inferredrelief at this densityinterface suggests a deep structuralcomponent to the surficialfeatures of multiring lunar impactbasins.
    [Show full text]
  • 2011-2 Sidereal-Times
    The Official Publication of the Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton Director Treasurer Program Chairman Ludy D’Angelo Michael Mitrano John Church 609-882-9336 (609)-737-6518 (609) 799-0723 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Assistant Director Secretary Editors Jeff Bernardis Larry Kane Bryan Hubbard, Ira Pollans and Michael Wright (609) 466-4238 (609) 273-1456 (908) 859-1670 and (609) 371-5668 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Also online at princetonastronomy.wordpress.com Volume 40 February 2011 Number 2 From the Director again starting in April. We’ll be doing some equip- ment upgrading from another generous donation to Snow! And more snow! And very cold! I used to the club. Also, there will be Super Science day at the State Planetarium coming up soon. never mind it, but this year it’s bugging me. It’s stopping or delaying many things. Our last meet- ing cancelled (a rarity!), very cold observing Also, we will soon be looking for another round of nights, very cold Outreach nights. But you know nominations for the next Board of Trustees of the club. This needs to be done by the May meeting. We what’s coming? SPRING! March and April bring need a volunteer to lead a nomination committee by chances at Messier Marathons. Maybe we could do one, maybe it won’t snow, or rain, or sleet, or our March meeting. We will be taking nominations hail. Who am I kidding, this is New Jersey, and for Director, Assistant Director, Program Chair, Sec- retary, and Treasurer.
    [Show full text]
  • Orthodox Political Theologies: Clergy, Intelligentsia and Social Christianity in Revolutionary Russia
    DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2020.08 ORTHODOX POLITICAL THEOLOGIES: CLERGY, INTELLIGENTSIA AND SOCIAL CHRISTIANITY IN REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA Alexandra Medzibrodszky A DISSERTATION in History Presented to the Faculties of the Central European University In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2020 Dissertation Supervisor: Matthias Riedl DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2020.08 Copyright Notice and Statement of Responsibility Copyright in the text of this dissertation rests with the Author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the Author and lodged in the Central European Library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the Author. I hereby declare that this dissertation contains no materials accepted for any other degrees in any other institutions and no materials previously written and/or published by another person unless otherwise noted. CEU eTD Collection ii DOI: 10.14754/CEU.2020.08 Technical Notes Transliteration of Russian Cyrillic in the dissertation is according to the simplified Library of Congress transliteration system. Well-known names, however, are transliterated in their more familiar form, for instance, ‘Tolstoy’ instead of ‘Tolstoii’. All translations are mine unless otherwise indicated. Dates before February 1918 are according to the Julian style calendar which is twelve days behind the Gregorian calendar in the nineteenth century and thirteen days behind in the twentieth century.
    [Show full text]
  • Endurance Crater at Meridiani Planum, Mars ⇑ Wesley A
    Icarus 211 (2011) 472–497 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Icarus journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/icarus Origin of the structure and planform of small impact craters in fractured targets: Endurance Crater at Meridiani Planum, Mars ⇑ Wesley A. Watters a, , John P. Grotzinger b, James Bell III a, John Grant c, Alex G. Hayes b, Rongxing Li d, Steven W. Squyres a, Maria T. Zuber e a Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA b Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 21125, USA c National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA d Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geodetic Science, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA e Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA article info abstract Article history: We present observations and models that together explain many hallmarks of the structure and growth Received 29 March 2010 of small impact craters forming in targets with aligned fractures. Endurance Crater at Meridiani Planum Revised 12 August 2010 on Mars (diameter 150 m) formed in horizontally-layered aeolian sandstones with a prominent set of Accepted 18 August 2010 wide, orthogonal joints. A structural model of Endurance Crater is assembled and used to estimate the Available online 19 September 2010 transient crater planform. The model is based on observations from the Mars Exploration Rover Oppor- tunity: (a) bedding plane orientations and layer thicknesses measured from stereo image pairs; (b) a dig- Keywords: ital elevation model of the whole crater at 0.3 m resolution; and (c) color image panoramas of the upper Impact processes crater walls.
    [Show full text]
  • Structural Analysis of Victoria Crater: Implications for Past Aqueous Processes on Mars
    Structural Analysis of Victoria Crater: Implications for Past Aqueous Processes on Mars By Serenity Mahoney A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Geology) at Gustavus Adolphus College 2015 Structural Analysis of Victoria crater: Implications for Past Aqueous Processes on Mars By Serenity Mahoney Under the supervision of Dr. Julie Bartley ABSTRACT Visible across the surface of Mars, sedimentary structures are all that remains of the liquid water that once covered the planet. Despite their excellent exposure and wide extent, little is known about the exposed stratigraphy found in impact craters on Mars. With the next Mars rover mission scheduled for 2020, impact craters preserve multiple structural features formed both during impact and later during diagenesis, making them an ideal place to look for aqueous markers and therefore conditions suitable for ancient life. Analyses of exposed structural features in Victoria crater permits calculation of the orientation of these features and, combined with mineralogical evidence, provide definitive support for past regional aqueous processes. In this study, three images of the well-exposed promontory Cabo Anonimo in Victoria were analyzed using the program ImageRover. These analyses suggested evidence for multiple types of sedimentary bedding, including bedding within clasts in the crater wall and bedding within the wall itself. Bedding within the clasts suggests primary bedding pre-impact, possibly formed by aqueous processes. 2 ACKNOLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my advisor Dr. Julie Bartley as well as Dr. Jim Welsh and Dr. Laura Triplett of the Geology department at Gustavus Adolphus College for their unwavering support and guidance.
    [Show full text]