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EVIDENCE from UTOPIA PLANITIA. GE Mcgill, Department Of Lunar and Planetary Science XXXI 1194.pdf AGE OF THE MARS GLOBAL NORTHERLY SLOPE: EVIDENCE FROM UTOPIA PLANITIA. G. E. McGill, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 ([email protected]). Recent results from the Mars Orbiter about 100, which is Late Hesperian, and Laser Altimeter (MOLA) experiment on thus the tilt must be Late Hesperian or older, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) indicate that in good agreement with results obtained in most of Mars is characterized by a very Arabia Terra gentle, roughly northerly slope (1,2). The untilted areas of smooth plains Detailed mapping in north-central Arabia occur as a 90-150 km wide bench along the Terra (3) combined with superposition northern margin of the Utopia Planitia relations and crater counts indicate that, in polygonal terrane, north of which the that region at least, this northerly slope must lowland floor resumes its northerly tilt have been formed no later than Late within rough, hummocky terrane. At least Hesperian, with the most likely time of one additional bench may be present within formation being Late Hesperian. Current this hummocky terrane. The bench research in Utopia Planitia intended as a test underlain by smooth plains materials of extant models for the formation of giant maintains a remarkably constant elevation of polygons (4,5) has turned up good evidence about -4700 m, with deviations of less than for a Late Hesperian age for the northerly tilt 100 m over distances of hundreds of km in this region as well, as will be discussed along the northern edge of the polygonal here. terrane. This bench is one of several similar MOLA profiles within an area bounded features interpreted to represent shoreline by Viking coordinates 22-42o N and 240- terraces left by a large lake within the 264o W show a very interesting correlation Utopia Basin (9, 10, 11). Whatever its of slope with terrane type. Within this area, origin, the bench constrains the north tilting lowland floor materials exposed near the to be Late Hesperian or older. If it really dichotomy boundary are overlain northward does represent a shoreline of a receding lake, by polygonal terrane (6). North of the the superposition and crater data require that polygonal terrane are smooth plains, which this lake be in existence after north tilting. overlie the polygonal terrane (4,7,8). The The implication is that there was a large lake smooth plains appear to grade northward in existence on Mars as recently as Late into a rough, hummocky terrane. From near Hesperian. the dichotomy boundary northward through Past work (4,7,8) indicated that the the polygonal terrain the MOLA profiles fractures bounding the giant polygons of show track-parallel (that is, roughly Utopia Planitia must have formed quickly northerly) slopes between 0.07o and 0.12o. because the smooth plains deposits that are There is a sharp topographic break at the superposed on these fractures have a crater contact between polygonal terrane and the age that is statistically indistinguishable smooth plains that overlie the polygonal from the crater age of the material cut by the terrain, and the smooth plains do not slope at polygon fractures. That is, the polygonal all. Thus it seems clear that the northerly tilt material was deposited, fractured, and then was already present when the smooth plains partially buried by smooth plains materials were deposited. Crater counts on smooth in a time that was very short relative to the plains materials (4,7,8) yield an N5 age of rate of crater formation. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXI 1194.pdf AGE OF MARS NORTH TILT: G. E. McGill The polygonal terrane is located within In summary, the topographic, geologic, the Utopia Basin (6). It is possible that the and crater data in Utopia Planitia support a material making up the polygonal terrane Late Hesperian or older age for the global was deposited with an initial dip congruent northerly slope of Mars. In addition, these with an older northerly slope of the lowland data strongly imply (but do not prove) a floor materials to the south. However, if the rapid series of events in Late Hesperian Utopia Basin was the site of a large lake, during which polygonal terrane material was one would anticipate from the geometry of deposited, tilted, fractured, and then partially shelf and basin sediments on Earth that the buried by smooth plains materials. The deposit would thicken towards the basin underlying cause remains to be discovered. center, and thus decrease the northerly slope. But slopes of polygonal terrane on the References MOLA profiles are the same as and continuous with slopes on the older lowland 1. Smith, D.E., et al., Science, 284, 1495- floor to the south; the break occurs at the 1503, 1999. contact with smooth plains north of the 2. Zuber, M.T., et al., EOS, 80, F602, 1999. polygonal terrane, as discussed above. This 3. McGill, G.E., EOS, 80, F627, 1999. geometry suggests that the tilt of the 4. McGill, G.E., and L.S. Hills, J. Geophys. polygonal terrain is not primary, but Res., 97, 2633-2647, 1992. secondary. If so, then the tilt must be Late 5. Wenrich, M.L., and P.R. Christensen, Hesperian. This is a very interesting result, LPSC XXVII, 1419-1420, 1996. because it requires that the tilt be formed 6. McGill, G.E., J. Geophys. Res., 94, 2753- quickly - after formation of the polygonal 2759, 1989. terrane but before the formation of the 7. McGill, G.E., LPSC XVI, 534-535, 1985. smooth plains. But both the polygonal 8. McGill, G.E., Geophys. Res. Letts., 13, terrane and the smooth plains have 705-708, 1986. statistically indistinguishable crater ages, 9. Head, J.W. III, et al., Science, 286, 2134- and thus there is very little time for the 2137, 1999. tilting to occur. This, too, is in agreement 10. Hiesinger, H. and J.W. Head, III, 5th. with results from Arabia Terra where the Int. Conf. on Mars, abs#6126, CDROM, most likely hypothesis requires tilting during 1999. a very short time interval within the Late 11. Thomson, B.J., and J.W. Head, III, Hesperian. LPSC XXX, Abs.#1894, CDROM, 1999 ..
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