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(A) Coprates Chasma, and (B) Candor Chasma

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(A) Coprates Chasma, and (B) Candor Chasma STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF VALLES MARINERIS, MARS Luis Eduardo Vargas Medina, BSc. MSc, Earth Sciences Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Faculty of Earth Sciences, Brock University St. Catharines, Ontario © 2018 Abstract Valles Marineris is the largest canyonland formation known in the solar system being ~4000 km long and up to 11 km deep, it is subparallel to the Martian equator and exposes the interior of the Tharsis province. The spurs on the walls were analyzed using digital elevation models to geometrically quantify their morphology and orientation, relying on methodologies such as dip analysis, relief and curvature analysis, and attitude analysis among others. These analyses permitted the documentation of indicators of structural influence on the walls which were then classified by the morphology and the type of faults from which they originate. Anomalous Planes (APs) are planar features that dip into the walls of a chasma and appear to be pre-existing fault planes within the Tharsis province. These faults are associated with the underlying structures of the Large Wrinkle Ridges (LWRs) located on Ophir Planum. An elastic dislocation model was used to corroborate that the APs can define the geometry of the underlying structure of the LWRs. Planetary grabens can be distinguished from sapping channels using their geometries. It is proposed that the formation of Coprates Chasma was the result of four individual smaller chasmata that later joined. This work shows the tools and criteria used to demonstrate that the formation of Valles Marineris was complex as reflected in the formation of the wall morphology. It is shown that the formation of the walls was influenced by pre-existent structures and chasma producing faults. Acknowledgements I would first like to thank Frank Fueten for always steering me in the right direction whenever I had a question about my research. Thanks to Bob Stesky, his participation as a second reader was very valuable. Thank you to my other committee members and external examiner. I would also like to acknowledge Jon Walmsley for his participation making digital elevation models available for me. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my family and friends for their support and encouragement throughout the program. Thank you. Table of Contents Chapter 1 : Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.1. Mars ..................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. The Tharsis province............................................................................................................ 3 1.3. Valles Marineris ................................................................................................................... 4 1.4. Chasma formation and wall morphology ............................................................................. 5 1.4.1. Spur and gully ............................................................................................................... 6 1.4.2. Tributary canyons ......................................................................................................... 7 1.4.3. Landslide scarps ........................................................................................................... 8 1.4.4. Pit chains....................................................................................................................... 8 1.5. Superficial structures ........................................................................................................... 9 1.5.1. Planetary grabens .......................................................................................................... 9 1.5.2. Wrinkle ridges ............................................................................................................ 10 1.6. Datasets: Imagery and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) ................................................ 11 1.7. Purpose of this study .......................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2 : Large Wrinkle Ridges ............................................................................................ 14 2.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 14 2.1.1. Distribution and formation of wrinkle ridges ............................................................. 16 2.1.2. Morphometry .............................................................................................................. 17 2.2. Previous studies ................................................................................................................. 18 2.2.1. Hypotheses for wrinkle ridge formation ..................................................................... 18 2.2.2. Quantitative models of wrinkle ridge formation ........................................................ 19 2.3. Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 20 2.3.1. Datasets and locations ................................................................................................ 20 2.3.2. Topographic analyses and selection of wrinkle ridges ............................................... 21 2.4. Wrinkle ridges surrounding Valles Marineris .................................................................... 23 2.4.1. North of Valles Marineris ........................................................................................... 23 2.4.2. South of Valles Marineris ........................................................................................... 27 2.5. Topographic expressions within Ophir Planum ................................................................. 32 2.5.1. Anomalous topographic ridges ................................................................................... 32 i 2.5.2. Morphology of the OP ridges ..................................................................................... 33 2.5.3. The walls of Coprates Chasma ................................................................................... 35 2.5.4. Inference of structural influence ................................................................................. 39 2.5.5. Possible origin of the APs .......................................................................................... 41 2.6. Underlying structure of the LWRs ..................................................................................... 45 2.6.1. Modelling the LWRs .................................................................................................. 45 2.6.2. Results ........................................................................................................................ 49 2.7. Discussion .......................................................................................................................... 53 2.8. Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 54 Chapter 3 : Structural development of spurs and gullies ....................................................... 55 3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 55 3.1.1. SGs and Valles Marineris ........................................................................................... 55 3.1.2. Slope stability ............................................................................................................. 58 3.1.3. Structural influence ..................................................................................................... 58 3.2. Preliminary work ............................................................................................................... 60 3.2.1. Dataset selection ......................................................................................................... 60 3.2.2. Simplified morphology ............................................................................................... 61 3.3. Analysis of the wall morphology ....................................................................................... 62 3.3.1. Techniques and methodologies .................................................................................. 62 3.3.1.1. Dip analysis ......................................................................................................... 62 3.3.1.2. Mean Signed Squared Difference (MSSD) ......................................................... 63 3.3.1.3. Augmented Visualization of Attitudes (AVA).................................................... 65 3.3.2. Results ........................................................................................................................ 66 3.3.2.1. Dip analysis of the walls ..................................................................................... 66 3.3.2.2. Identification of ridges and troughs .................................................................... 72 3.3.2.3. Patterns and anomalies on the walls .................................................................... 78 3.4. Detailed analysis of the spurs and SG wall morphology ................................................... 82 3.4.1. Techniques
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