DOCSLIB.ORG

Crust Stratigraphy and Heterogeneities of the First Kilometers at the Dichotomy Boundary in Western Elysium Planitia and Implications for Insight Lander L

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Crust stratigraphy and heterogeneities of the first kilometers at the dichotomy boundary in western Elysium Planitia and implications for InSight lander L. Pan, C. Quantin-Nataf, B. Tauzin, C. Michaut, M. Golombek, P. Lognonné, P. Grindrod, Benoit Langlais, T. Gudkova, I. Stepanova, et al. To cite this version: L. Pan, C. Quantin-Nataf, B. Tauzin, C. Michaut, M. Golombek, et al.. Crust stratigraphy and heterogeneities of the first kilometers at the dichotomy boundary in western Elysium Planitia and implications for InSight lander. Icarus, Elsevier, 2020, 338, pp.113511. 10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113511. hal-02346218 HAL Id: hal-02346218 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02346218 Submitted on 7 Aug 2020 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial| 4.0 International License Icarus 338 (2020) 113511 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Icarus journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/icarus Crust stratigraphy and heterogeneities of the first kilometers at the dichotomy boundary in western Elysium Planitia and implications for InSight lander Lu Pan a,*, Cathy Quantin-Nataf a, Benoit Tauzin a,b, Chlo�e Michaut c, Matt Golombek d, LognonnePhillipe Lognonn�e e, Peter Grindrod f, Benoit Langlais g, Tamara Gudkova h, Inna Stepanova h, S�ebastien Rodriguez e, Antoine Lucas e a Universit�e de Lyon, Universit�e Claude Bernard Lyon 1, ENS de Lyon, CNRS, UMR 5276 Laboratoire de G�eologie de Lyon -Terre, Plan�etes, Environnement, 69622 Villeurbanne, France b Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia c Universit�e de Lyon, Ecole� Normale Sup�erieure de Lyon, UCBL, CNRS, Laboratoire de G�eologie de Lyon -Terre, Plan�etes, Environnement, 69007 Lyon, France d Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109, United States of America e Universit�e de Paris, Institut de physique du globe de Paris, CNRS, F-75005 Paris, France f The Natural History Museum at Tring Akeman Street, Tring, Hertfordshire HP23 6AP, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland g Laboratoire de Plan�etologie et G�eodynamique, Univ. Nantes, Univ. Angers, CNRS, UMR 6112, F-44000 Nantes, France h Schmidt Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, B. Gruzinskaya 10, Moscow 123495, Russia ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: InSight landed on Mars on November 26, 2018, in western Elysium Planitia. The Mars crust beneath the lander is Mars subject to complex geologic history next to the great topographic and crustal dichotomy of Mars. Understanding Cratering this part of the Martian crust in the subsurface would aid future investigations of the internal structure of the Geological processes planet based on seismic datasets collected by the Seismic Experiment for Interior Structure (SEIS) instrument. Mineralogy Here, we investigate the subsurface structure and composition from the analysis of mineralogy and morphology Spectroscopy of exposures in impact craters as well as on scarps and knobs in the general region of Elysium Planitia. Using a combination of orbital datasets, we identify exposures of subsurface materials with distinct composition and physical properties. We findolivine and pyroxene detections associated with small impact craters (1.5–7 km) rim in the vicinity of InSight lander, as well as in the transition unit and Elysium volcanic unit. Fe/Mg phyllosilicates have been identified in the central peak of the 51-km diameter Kalpin crater and on knobs in the transition unit between the dichotomy and the plains. In addition, eroded meter-scale layered unit subject to erosion has been identifiedin six impact craters to the north-east of the landing site, including Kalpin crater. Massive bedrock and layered, weak materials co-occur in the transition unit, indicating a complex origin. These results together suggest both materials with altered composition and layered deposit occur as distinct geologic units beneath the basaltic lava flow units. Through analogy with terrestrial sedimentary rocks or clay-bearing sediments, we suggest physically weak materials exist beneath the lava flowunits in the general region of Elysium Planitia. The spatial distribution and continuity of these materials are unclear due to the lack of exposures within the lava flow unit where the InSight lander is located. These subsurface materials of distinct physical properties may result in increased attenuation or reverberations of seismic waves, to be collected by SEIS. The findings suggest a close investigation of the potential effects of subsurface stratigraphy on seismic data would help inform future data interpretation and understanding of the internal structure of Mars. * Corresponding author at: 2 rue Rapha€el Dubois, Batiment^ GEODE, Villeurbanne 69622, France. E-mail address: [email protected] (L. Pan). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2019.113511 Received 20 May 2019; Received in revised form 16 September 2019; Accepted 26 October 2019 Available online 31 October 2019 0019-1035/© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). L. Pan et al. Icarus 338 (2020) 113511 1. Introduction 2013, 2017) and successfully landed on November 26, 2018. The InSight lander explores the interior of Mars with a set of geophysical instruments The Martian crust has been probed using the global scale topography (e.g. Banerdt et al., 2017), including the Seismic Experiment for Interior and gravity returned from Mars Global Surveyor mission (Smith et al., Structure (SEIS) (Lognonne� et al., 2019), the Rotation and Interior 1999; Zuber et al., 2000), however, the internal 3D structure of Mars (e. Structure Experiment (RISE) (Folkner et al., 2018), and the Heat Flow g. core size, crustal thickness) still has large uncertainties. To better and Physical Properties Package (HP3) (Spohn et al., 2018). One of the understand the formation and evolution of the terrestrial planets, the main science goals of the InSight mission is to understand the internal InSight (Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and structure of Mars from seismic activity. The SEIS instrument is the first Heat Transport) robotic lander launched on May 5, 2018 as the first seismometer placed on Mars’ surface and it consists of a 3-axis very mission to investigate the interior structure of Mars (Banerdt et al., broad band (VBB) instrument and a 3-axis short period (SP) instrument. Fig. 1. Geologic context of InSight landing site: A) The location of InSight landing ellipse in the southwest flank of Elysium Mons volcanic terrains, north of the dichotomy boundary. Upper left corner shows a Mars globe with the highlighted region of map and landing site location. The base map is Mars THEMIS daytime infrared mosaic overlain by the topography from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA), in Mars equirectangular projection. B). Geological map with the same map extent (Tanaka et al., 2014) showing the major geologic units and structures in the region. Geological unit abbreviations follow the USGS global map. Nhe: Noachian Hesperian unit; HNt: Hesperian and Noachian transition unit; eHt: Early Hesperian transition unit; lHt: late Hesperian transition unit; lHl: late Hesperian unit; Hve: Hesperian volcanic unit; AHv: Amazonian-Hesperian volcanic unit; lAv: late Amazonian volcanic unit; lHvf: Late Hesperian volcanic fieldunit; AHi: Amazonian and Hesperian Impact unit; Htu: Hesperian transition undivided unit; AHtu: Amazonian and Hesperian transition undivided unit. C) Gridded free-air gravity model (MRO120D (Konopliv et al., 2016)) for the landing site region with spherical harmonic degrees from 7 to 90 overlain on the MOLA hill shade. D) Magnetic field intensity map of the landing site region overlain on MOLA hill shade map following Langlais et al. (2019). 2 L. Pan et al. Icarus 338 (2020) 113511 The finallanding site for InSight lander (the E9 ellipse) is located in instrument onboard the InSight lander based on the information of the western Elysium Planitia near the dichotomy boundary, south of geologic structure of the landing site region. We propose six crustal Elysium Mons shield volcano, in particular to satisfy the constraints on models for future modeling effort and seismic data analysis based on landing safety and the instrument deployment requirements (Golombek these geological constraints that we provide as supplementary material. et al., 2017). Within the northern lowlands (Fig. 1), the landing ellipse is located on the flat, rocky lava plains mapped as Hesperian aged unit 2. Geological and geophysical background of the landing site (eHt) (Tanaka et al., 2014). As the 4–6 km topographical difference region between the northern lowlands and southern highlands formed very early (Frey et al., 2002), the dichotomy boundary has been subjected to Situated between the Elysium volcanic structure and the dichotomy degradation and accumulation of sediments
Recommended publications
  • Volcanism on Mars

    Volcanism on Mars

    Author's personal copy Chapter 41 Volcanism on Mars James R. Zimbelman Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA William Brent Garry and Jacob Elvin Bleacher Sciences and Exploration Directorate, Code 600, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA David A. Crown Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ, USA Chapter Outline 1. Introduction 717 7. Volcanic Plains 724 2. Background 718 8. Medusae Fossae Formation 725 3. Large Central Volcanoes 720 9. Compositional Constraints 726 4. Paterae and Tholi 721 10. Volcanic History of Mars 727 5. Hellas Highland Volcanoes 722 11. Future Studies 728 6. Small Constructs 723 Further Reading 728 GLOSSARY shield volcano A broad volcanic construct consisting of a multitude of individual lava flows. Flank slopes are typically w5, or less AMAZONIAN The youngest geologic time period on Mars identi- than half as steep as the flanks on a typical composite volcano. fied through geologic mapping of superposition relations and the SNC meteorites A group of igneous meteorites that originated on areal density of impact craters. Mars, as indicated by a relatively young age for most of these caldera An irregular collapse feature formed over the evacuated meteorites, but most importantly because gases trapped within magma chamber within a volcano, which includes the potential glassy parts of the meteorite are identical to the atmosphere of for a significant role for explosive volcanism. Mars. The abbreviation is derived from the names of the three central volcano Edifice created by the emplacement of volcanic meteorites that define major subdivisions identified within the materials from a centralized source vent rather than from along a group: S, Shergotty; N, Nakhla; C, Chassigny.
  • Mineralogy of the Martian Surface

    Mineralogy of the Martian Surface

    EA42CH14-Ehlmann ARI 30 April 2014 7:21 Mineralogy of the Martian Surface Bethany L. Ehlmann1,2 and Christopher S. Edwards1 1Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125; email: [email protected], [email protected] 2Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91109 Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2014. 42:291–315 Keywords First published online as a Review in Advance on Mars, composition, mineralogy, infrared spectroscopy, igneous processes, February 21, 2014 aqueous alteration The Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences is online at earth.annualreviews.org Abstract This article’s doi: The past fifteen years of orbital infrared spectroscopy and in situ exploration 10.1146/annurev-earth-060313-055024 have led to a new understanding of the composition and history of Mars. Copyright c 2014 by Annual Reviews. Globally, Mars has a basaltic upper crust with regionally variable quanti- by California Institute of Technology on 06/09/14. For personal use only. All rights reserved ties of plagioclase, pyroxene, and olivine associated with distinctive terrains. Enrichments in olivine (>20%) are found around the largest basins and Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2014.42:291-315. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org within late Noachian–early Hesperian lavas. Alkali volcanics are also locally present, pointing to regional differences in igneous processes. Many ma- terials from ancient Mars bear the mineralogic fingerprints of interaction with water. Clay minerals, found in exposures of Noachian crust across the globe, preserve widespread evidence for early weathering, hydrothermal, and diagenetic aqueous environments. Noachian and Hesperian sediments include paleolake deposits with clays, carbonates, sulfates, and chlorides that are more localized in extent.
  • Landscape Evolution Comparison Between Valles Marineris, Mars and the Rio Chama Canyon, New Mexico, Usa

    Landscape Evolution Comparison Between Valles Marineris, Mars and the Rio Chama Canyon, New Mexico, Usa

    50th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 2019 (LPI Contrib. No. 2132) 2811.pdf LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION COMPARISON BETWEEN VALLES MARINERIS, MARS AND THE RIO CHAMA CANYON, NEW MEXICO, USA. J. M. Chesnutt1, K. W. Wegmann1, E. D. Szymanski2, P. K. Byrne1, and C. L. Kling1 1North Carolina State University, Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Raleigh, NC, United States, 2University of Michigan, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ann Arbor, MI, United States Introduction and Background: Here we report on Rio Chama Canyon: The canyon of the Rio Chama initial findings of an Earth–Mars landscape evolution in north-central New Mexico is inset into the eastern- analog study of the Valles Marineris, Mars and Rio most portion of the Colorado Plateau as the river de- Chama Canyon, New Mexico. scends ~350 m off the plateau rim into the Rio Grande Rift. The Rio Chama has incised into the surrounding This research focuses on the escarpment–flank mass mesas. The dynamic landscape of the Rio Chama Can- wasting features and valley formation of both land- yon is an ideal area to study linkages between river in- forms. Notably, the northern wall of Valles Marineris cision, mass wasting and landscape evolution at the has retreated to approximately twice the extent as the physiographic transition from the Colorado Plateau to southern wall (Figure 1), and the southern wall of the the Rio Grande Rift. Similar linkages may have influ- Rio Chama canyon has eroded about three times the ex- enced the landscape evolution of Valles Marineris. tent of the northern wall (Figure 2).
  • The Periglacial Landscape of Utopia Planitia; Geologic Evidence for Recent Climate Change on Mars

    The Periglacial Landscape of Utopia Planitia; Geologic Evidence for Recent Climate Change on Mars

    Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 1-23-2013 12:00 AM The Periglacial Landscape Of Utopia Planitia; Geologic Evidence For Recent Climate Change On Mars. Mary C. Kerrigan The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Marco Van De Wiel The University of Western Ontario Joint Supervisor Dr. Gordon R Osinski The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Geography A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Science © Mary C. Kerrigan 2013 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Climate Commons, Geology Commons, Geomorphology Commons, and the Physical and Environmental Geography Commons Recommended Citation Kerrigan, Mary C., "The Periglacial Landscape Of Utopia Planitia; Geologic Evidence For Recent Climate Change On Mars." (2013). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1101. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1101 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE PERIGLACIAL LANDSCAPE OF UTOPIA PLANITIA; GEOLOGIC EVIDENCE FOR RECENT CLIMATE CHANGE ON MARS by Mary C. Kerrigan Graduate Program in Geography A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Mary C. Kerrigan 2013 ii THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Joint Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ Dr.
  • Pre-Mission Insights on the Interior of Mars Suzanne E

    Pre-Mission Insights on the Interior of Mars Suzanne E

    Pre-mission InSights on the Interior of Mars Suzanne E. Smrekar, Philippe Lognonné, Tilman Spohn, W. Bruce Banerdt, Doris Breuer, Ulrich Christensen, Véronique Dehant, Mélanie Drilleau, William Folkner, Nobuaki Fuji, et al. To cite this version: Suzanne E. Smrekar, Philippe Lognonné, Tilman Spohn, W. Bruce Banerdt, Doris Breuer, et al.. Pre-mission InSights on the Interior of Mars. Space Science Reviews, Springer Verlag, 2019, 215 (1), pp.1-72. 10.1007/s11214-018-0563-9. hal-01990798 HAL Id: hal-01990798 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01990798 Submitted on 23 Jan 2019 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Open Archive Toulouse Archive Ouverte (OATAO ) OATAO is an open access repository that collects the wor of some Toulouse researchers and ma es it freely available over the web where possible. This is an author's version published in: https://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/21690 Official URL : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-018-0563-9 To cite this version : Smrekar, Suzanne E. and Lognonné, Philippe and Spohn, Tilman ,... [et al.]. Pre-mission InSights on the Interior of Mars. (2019) Space Science Reviews, 215 (1).
  • Equatorial Locations of Water on Mars: Improved Resolution Maps Based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer Data

    Equatorial Locations of Water on Mars: Improved Resolution Maps Based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer Data

    Lunar and Planetary Science XLVIII (2017) 2615.pdf EQUATORIAL LOCATIONS OF WATER ON MARS: IMPROVED RESOLUTION MAPS BASED ON MARS ODYSSEY NEUTRON SPECTROMETER DATA. J. T. Wilson1*, V. R. Eke1, R. J. Massey1, R. C. Elphic2, W. C. Feldman3, S. Maurice4, L. F. A. Teodoro2. 1Institute for Computational Cosmology, Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK ([email protected]). 2Planetary Systems Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 94035-1000, USA.3Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA. 4IRAP-OMP, Toulouse, France Now at The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel MD 20723, USA Introduction: The main goal of the Mars Odyssey that these equatorial hydrogen deposits are in the form Neutron Spectrometer (MONS) is to determine the ma- of hydrated minerals [2]. jor near-surface reservoirs of hydrogen on Mars [1]. The 550 km spatial resolution of the MONS instru- This task is important as it allows inferences about the ment suppresses smaller-scale features in the MONS past and present climate to be drawn, which, in turn, data, and the inferred hydrogen distribution. It also re- give information about the dynamic history of Mars and sults in a reduction in the dynamic range of the data, the possibility of the past, or present, existence of life. leading to an underestimate in the wt. % WEH content Additionally, understanding the small-scale distribution of small hydrogen-rich areas. The previously inferred of water is necessary for landing site selection for mis- WEH abundances for equatorial features will have been sions looking for signs of life or exploring in-situ re- underestimated because of this effect.
  • Underlying Structural Control of Small-Scale Faults and Fractures in West Candor Chasma, Mars C

    Underlying Structural Control of Small-Scale Faults and Fractures in West Candor Chasma, Mars C

    JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 117, E11001, doi:10.1029/2012JE004144, 2012 Underlying structural control of small-scale faults and fractures in West Candor Chasma, Mars C. Birnie,1 F. Fueten,1 R. Stesky,2 and E. Hauber3 Received 29 May 2012; revised 4 September 2012; accepted 18 September 2012; published 2 November 2012. [1] Orientations of small-scale faults and fractures within the interior layered deposits of West Candor Chasma were measured to investigate what information about the geologic history of Valles Marineris they can contribute. Deformational features were separated into six categories based on morphology and their orientations were analyzed. The elevations at which the deformational features formed are recorded, as a proxy for stratigraphic level. Deformational features occur over a continuous range of elevations and display regionally consistent preferred orientations, indicating their formation was controlled by a regional stress regime. The two most abundant preferred orientations of 35 and 110 are approximately parallel to the chasma walls and the inferred underlying normal faults. The alignment of three populations of small faults at 140, consistent with the morphology of release faults, indicates a large-scale fault underlying the southeastern border of Ceti Mensa. The preferred orientations imply these small-scale deformational features formed from a continuation of the same imposed stresses responsible for the formation of Valles Marineris, indicating these stresses existed past the formation of the interior layered deposits. The origins of a fourth preferred orientation of 70 is less clear but suggests the study area has undergone at least two periods of deformation. Citation: Birnie, C., F.
  • Comparison of Volcanic Features of Elysium (Mars) and Tibesti (Earth)

    Comparison of Volcanic Features of Elysium (Mars) and Tibesti (Earth)

    Comparison of volcanic features of Elysium (Mars) and Tibesti (Earth) MICHAEL C. MALIN* Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 ABSTRACT the Tharsis region, which represent the Emi Koussi (19.7°N, 18.5°E; Fig. 1), largest and most conspicuous examples of situated at the extreme southern portion of The Elysium volcanic province on Mars martian volcanism (McCauley and others, the volcanic region, ranges from 60 to 80 and the Tibesti volcanic province in Chad, 1972; Carr, 1973, 1974). Comparison with km across and consists of 2,000 m of vol- Africa, were studied using Mariner 9, terrestrial volcanoes, especially those on the canics resting on Paleozoic and Cretaceous Landsat and Apollo photography. Elysium island of Hawaii, has been most fruitful sandstones which have been uplifted 1,500 Mons on Mars and Emi Koussi on Earth (Greeley, 1973). m. The original cone may have reached as show remarkable similarities in summit In this paper, another martian volcanic much as 4,000 m above sea level but is now caldera and flank morphologies. Each has a province will be studied. The Elysium re- only 3,415 m high, with a large (15-km), large central caldera —12 km in diameter gion has several structures which are not multiple-crater caldera some 500 m deep at and from 500 to 1,000 m deep; both cal- found elsewhere on Mars, as well as some the summit. Much of the volcanism oc- deras contain numerous craters and large, which are similar to those of Tharsis. Com- curred during the middle and late Tertiary, irregular pits.
  • The Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera: Interplanetary Cruise Through Primary Mission

    The Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera: Interplanetary Cruise Through Primary Mission

    p. 1 The Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera: Interplanetary Cruise through Primary Mission Michael C. Malin and Kenneth S. Edgett Malin Space Science Systems P.O. Box 910148 San Diego CA 92130-0148 (note to JGR: please do not publish e-mail addresses) ABSTRACT More than three years of high resolution (1.5 to 20 m/pixel) photographic observations of the surface of Mars have dramatically changed our view of that planet. Among the most important observations and interpretations derived therefrom are that much of Mars, at least to depths of several kilometers, is layered; that substantial portions of the planet have experienced burial and subsequent exhumation; that layered and massive units, many kilometers thick, appear to reflect an ancient period of large- scale erosion and deposition within what are now the ancient heavily cratered regions of Mars; and that processes previously unsuspected, including gully-forming fluid action and burial and exhumation of large tracts of land, have operated within near- contemporary times. These and many other attributes of the planet argue for a complex geology and complicated history. INTRODUCTION Successive improvements in image quality or resolution are often accompanied by new and important insights into planetary geology that would not otherwise be attained. From the variety of landforms and processes observed from previous missions to the planet Mars, it has long been anticipated that understanding of Mars would greatly benefit from increases in image spatial resolution. p. 2 The Mars Observer Camera (MOC) was initially selected for flight aboard the Mars Observer (MO) spacecraft [Malin et al., 1991, 1992].
  • Chronology, Eruption Duration, and Atmospheric Contribution of the Martian Volcano Apollinaris Patera

    Chronology, Eruption Duration, and Atmospheric Contribution of the Martian Volcano Apollinaris Patera

    ICARUS 104, 301-323 (1993) Chronology, Eruption Duration, and Atmospheric Contribution of the Martian Volcano Apollinaris Patera MARKS. ROBINSON AND PETER J. MOUGINIS-MARK Planetary Geosciences, Department of Geology and Geophysics, SO EST, University of Hawaii, 2525 Correa Road, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96822 f ' I JAMES R. ZIMBELMAN CEPS National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington , D.C. 20560 SHERMAN S. C . Wu, KARYN K. ABLIN, AND ANNIE E. HowiNGTON-KRAUS Astrogeology Branch, U. S . Geological Survey, 2255 North Gemini Drive, Flagstaff; Arizona, 86001 Received February I, 1993 ; revised April 26, 1993 vant to understanding the source regions that feed volca­ Geologic mapping, thermal inertia measurements, and an analy­ noes and the effects that eruptions had on the martian sis ofthe color (visual wavelengths) of the martian volcano Apolli­ atmosphere (Postawko et al. 1988 , Greeley 1987, Wilson naris Patera indicate the existence of two different surface materi­ and Mouginis-Mark 1987). Geologic studies of the major als, comprising an early, easily eroded edifice, and a more recent, martian volcanic constructs show that there are essen­ competent fan on the southern flank. A chronology of six major tially two types: those with extensive lava flows such as events that is consistent with the present morphology of the volcano Olympus Mons and the Tharsis Montes (Moore et al. has been identified. We propose that large scale explosive activity 1978 , Greeley and Spudis 1981, Mouginis-Mark 1981 , occurred during the formation of the main edifice and that the Zimbelman 1984) and those mostly comprised of pyroclas­ distinctive fan on the southern flank appears to have been formed tic deposits such as Hecates Tholus, Tyrrhena Patera, by lavas of low eruptive rate similar to those that form compound pahoehoe flow fields on Earth.
  • The Evolution of East Candor Chasma, Valles Marineris, Mars: Proposed Structural Collapse and Sedimentation

    The Evolution of East Candor Chasma, Valles Marineris, Mars: Proposed Structural Collapse and Sedimentation

    THE EVOLUTION OF EAST CANDOR CHASMA, VALLES MARINERIS, MARS: PROPOSED STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE AND SEDIMENTATION Amanda Burden, BSc. (Hons.) MSc, Earth Science Submitted in partial fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Faculty of Math and Science, Brock University St. Catharines, Ontario Amanda Burden © November 2018 Amanda Burden Abstract Valles Marineris (VM), Mars has a long history of sedimentary deposition. East Candor Chasma is located on the eastern flank of Valles Marineris. Previous studies of the chasma suggests a complex geological history of collapse and basin infill. Interior Layer Deposits (ILDs) in East Candor Chasma span over 475 km long, 145 km wide and range in elevation from -5.5 km to 3.5 km at datum. The ILDs can be separated into six different unit varieties-massive, thick layer unit, thin layer unit, steeply inclined unit, deformed layer unit, and thin mesa unit. The massive unit contains no visible layering and a distinct erosional style. Thick layer units are found overlying the massive unit and tend to thin upwards within the mound. The thin layer unit overlies the thick layer unit and can be observed truncating thick layering. A steeply dipping unit is anomalous and found only in one mound within the chasma. A Deformed layer unit is commonly observed along the walls of the chasma indicating post erosional slumping. A thin mesa unit is thought to be a late ash cover which conformably drapes all pre-existing geology. Unconformities are observed throughout the chasma, three occur at an elevation of ~1000 m within the thick layer unit.
  • Volcanology of the Elysium Volcanoes

    Volcanology of the Elysium Volcanoes

    Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII (2007) 2140.pdf VOLCANOLOGY OF THE ELYSIUM VOLCANOES. J. B. Plescia, Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hop- kins University, Laurel MD, [email protected]. Introduction: Elysium is the second largest vol- cuate, somewhat sinuous, wrinkle ridge occurs on the canic region and includes the youngest volcanic sur- eastern flank ~70-90 km from the caldera center; its faces on Mars [1]. It is characterized by a broad asym- morphology suggests a thrust dipping toward the sum- metric topographic rise and three volcanoes: Elysium mit. The flanks exhibit terraces as observed on Olym- Mons, Albor Tholus and Hecates Tholus. While the pus Mons and suggested to be due to radial thrust Cerberus Plains have been the subject of considerable faulting. The flank is mantled by aeolian material as work [2], the volcanoes themselves have been little evidenced by the subdued morphology, partly-filled studied beyond a general overview of the region, com- craters, the absence of ejecta and the presence of paring them to Tibesti, and studies of specific volcanic dunes. features and deposits [3]. The morphology and geol- Albor Tholus: Albor’s flank has a radial, hum- ogy of the three volcanoes are discussed here and in- mocky morphology. Lava flows (500-1000 m wide terpreted in terms of volcanic style and geologic his- where observed) have lobate margins, some with chan- tory. Basic data for each volcano are listed in Table I nels. The summit complex (32-35 km wide) consists of [4]. a large caldera and a smaller one on the north margin.