DOCSLIB.ORG

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science Institute of Petrology and Structural Geology Study Program: Geology Mgr. Petr

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Science Institute of Petrology and Structural Geology Study program: Geology Mgr. Petr Brož Small-scale volcanoes on Mars: image analysis, numerical modeling, and comparison with terrestrial analogs Malé sopky na Marsu: obrazová analýza, numerické modelování a srovnání s pozemskými analogy Ph.D. thesis Supervisor: doc. Mgr. David Dolejš, Ph.D. Prague, 2015 Declaration Author declares that the presented Ph.D.’s thesis is an original work which is result of research carried out by author in cooperation with coauthors fully acknowledged in section “Contribution by the author” or listed as authors in individual chapters of this thesis. This thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the main text of the thesis. All the relevant literature and used sources had been cited properly. Prohlášení Prohlašuji, že jsem závěrečnou práci zpracoval samostatně a že jsem uvedl všechny použité informační zdroje a literaturu. Tato práce ani její podstatná část nebyla předložena k získání jiného nebo stejného akademického titulu. Praha, 11. června 2015 ………………………. Mgr. Petr Brož i Preface The goal of this doctoral thesis is to extend our knowledge of small-scale volcanoes on Mars. This planet was volcanically active in the past, and as the most common volcanoes on Earth are small monogenetic volcanoes, it is logical to expect their existence on Mars and to search for their evidence. When I started to be interested in this field of volcanology, I searched through scientific literature and found out that these structures had not been investigated in detail so far. This was partly due to image resolution that was still insufficient to allow detection and investigation of small-scale edifices, but also because martian small volcanic landforms were neglected by researchers for a long time. Many volcanologists focused their attention to the famous large shield volcanoes situated within the well-known volcanic provinces. Small-scale volcanoes were mentioned only rarely, mostly as story sidelines accompanying studies of larger volcanoes. This discrepancy in our knowledge motivated me to spend a part of my scientific career by searching for ‘tiny’ martian volcanoes in an attempt to prove their existence. In the end, I found a great pleasure in my work; investigating this rich and diverse family of small volcanic structures. I could spend dozens of hours ‘flying’ above the martian surface via GoogleEarth™ with the feeling that I might discover volcano in another world. A volcano which has never been seen and which I should now investigate. Here I summarize my knowledge and contributions to small-scale volcanoes that I have gained during the last few years with a collaborative help of my colleagues. I am sure that our understanding is not final and complete. It may be extended and/or overcome in the future as new planetary probes will stream back to Earth new data leading to new scientific breakouts in this field. We can only hardly estimate where our knowledge will stand after next several decades. I hope that my research will serve as essential background for future studies and that our results will become an integral part of the flow of knowledge. ii This Ph.D. thesis is based on the results summarized in the following papers, where I am the senior and corresponding author. These papers were reprinted with permission from the respective journal and are used here for degree-granting purposes in compliance with the license agreements between the author and the publishing houses: 1. Brož, P., Hauber, E., 2012. A unique volcanic field in Tharsis, Mars: Pyroclastic cones as evidence for explosive eruptions, Icarus, 218(1), 88–99, doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2011.11.030. 2. Brož, P., Hauber, E., 2013. Hydrovolcanic tuff rings and cones as indicators for phreatomagmatic explosive eruptions on Mars, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 118, 1656–1675, doi: 10.1002/jgre.20120. 3. Brož, P., Čadek, O., Hauber, E., Rossi, A. P., 2014. Shape of scoria cones on Mars: insights from numerical modeling of ballistic pathways, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 406, 14–23, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2014.09.002. 4. Brož, P., Hauber, E., Platz, T., Balme, M., 2015. Evidence for Amazonian highly viscous lavas in southern highlands on Mars, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 415, 200–212, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2015.01.033. 5. Brož, P., Čadek, O., Hauber, E., Rossi, A. P., (submitted). Scoria cones on Mars: detailed investigation of morphometry based on HiRISE and CTX DEMs, submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. iii Contribution by the author and co-authors All five articles (Brož and Hauber, 2012; 2013; Brož et al., 2014, 2015, submitted) have been produced in collaboration with Dipl.-Geol. Ernst Hauber from the Institut für Planetenforschung, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) in Berlin (Germany). The three publications have additional co-authors: Dr. Thomas Platz from the Freie Universität in Berlin (Germany), Dr. Matt Balme from the Open University in the Milton Keynes (United Kingdom), doc. Ondřej Čadek from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of the Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), and Dr. Angelo Pio Rossi from the Jacobs University in Bremen (Germany). I am the senior and corresponding author of all publications presented here, and I was responsible for formulating and definition the initial ideas and methodological approach, review of the current state of knowledge, analysis and interpretation of data, and writing and coordinating the completion of the manuscripts. The co-authors contributed by critically evaluating and discussing the early steps of manuscript preparation and through editorial revisions. Ernst Hauber contributed to the organization of all presented manuscripts, and kindly advised me during data processing and manuscript preparation. He also provided valuable insights, inspiring ideas and consultation time. Thomas Platz helped me with a crater-counting technique, presented partly in Brož and Hauber (2012), and in more detail in Brož et al. (2015), and he provided valuable insight into the mechanism of evolved magma formation in the current martian crust. Matt Balme critically improved the quality and accuracy of the final text in Brož et al. (2015). Ondřej Čadek contributed with essential skills and knowledge of numerical modeling used in Brož et al. (2014), the design of the numerical model reflects his substantial involvement. He was also responsible for the data management and processing in Brož et al. (submitted). Angelo Pio Rossi participated in generation of Digital Elevation Models (DEM) from stereo- images used in the studies of Brož et al. (2014) and Brož et al. (submitted). iv Acknowledgements Since every good story has its beginning, also my story has one. It all began several years ago when the most significant event in my scientific life happened. Martin Pauer sent me on a virtual trajectory outside this planet. At that time none of us knew where I would land. Martin helped me arrange my first internship at the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt in Berlin where I met Ernst Hauber, a person who became my steady guide through the exploration of volcanic landforms on Mars. Therefore, I am grateful to Martin because without him I would have never worked on such an amazing topic and I would probably quit an academic career soon after my master’s degree. Very close second, I have to thank Ernst Hauber for all his help, time and hospitality. I could write dozens of pages by describing how Ernst fundamentally affected me and how much I owe him for my scientific growth and development. This would still not cover all aspects. Therefore, I will write it short: thanks, Ernst, for everything! Your critical view and comments forced me to think about my work from new perspectives while sharpening final ideas. There is a number of people which I would like to thank as well because this thesis would have never been done without them. I am thankful to Aleš Špičák who allowed me to work at the Institute of Geophysics of the Czech Academy of Science from the beginning of my career; to Prokop Závada who provided me his help in these hard beginnings, to Matěj Machek who always had time to answer my general questions about geology, to Václav Kuna for his interest to discuss some crazy ideas about Mars (which later surprisingly proved to be valuable scientific contributions!), and also to other members of our department. I would also thanks to Thomas Platz and Thomas Kneissl for their help with crater-counting technique and with the program ‘CraterTool’ for ArcGIS software respectively, to Matt Balme who provided me the opportunity to join his research team v at the Open University in Milton Keynes (UK) during my fellowship, and to Angelo Pio Rossi for his valuable help with the generation of digital elevation models from stereo-images. I cannot forget to mention Ondřej Čadek who decided to transform my general geological ideas into solid numerical models enabling us more in-depth research, and to David Dolejš who oversaw the 4 years of my Ph.D. study. And of course, there are many more to whom I owe my thanks. I really appreciate your hints, valuable comments, ideas, help or just simple advices. And I hope it will continue to be so… I gratefully acknowledge the Grant Agency of the Charles University for funding through the project ‘Distribution of pyroclastic cones on Mars: analogue modeling and comparison with terrestrial analogues’ (#580313) during the years 2013-2015 and the grant program KONTAKT of the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic (ME09011).
Recommended publications
  • Geological Processes and Evolution

    Geological Processes and Evolution

    GEOLOGICAL PROCESSES AND EVOLUTION J.W. HEAD1, R. GREELEY2, M.P. GOLOMBEK3, W.K. HARTMANN4, E. HAUBER5, R. JAUMANN5, P. MASSON6, G. NEUKUM5, L.E. NYQUIST7 and M.H. CARR8 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912 USA 2Department of Geology, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 USA 3Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 USA 4Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85705 USA 5DLR Institute of Space Sensor Technology and Planetary Exploration, Rutherfordstrasse 2, 12484 Berlin-Aldershof, Germany 6University of Paris-Sud, 91405, Orsay Cedex France 7Johnson Space Center, Houston TX 77058 USA 8US Geological Survey, Branch of Astrogeological Studies, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA Received:14 February 2001; accepted:12 March 2001 Abstract. Geological mapping and establishment of stratigraphic relationships provides an overview of geological processes operating on Mars and how they have varied in time and space. Impact craters and basins shaped the crust in earliest history and as their importance declined, evidence of extensive regional volcanism emerged during the Late Noachian. Regional volcanism characterized the Early Hesperian and subsequent to that time, volcanism was largely centered at Tharsis and Elysium, con- tinuing until the recent geological past. The Tharsis region appears to have been largely constructed by the Late Noachian, and represents a series of tectonic and volcanic centers. Globally distributed structural features representing contraction characterize the middle Hesperian. Water-related pro- cesses involve the formation of valley networks in the Late Noachian and into the Hesperian, an ice sheet at the south pole in the middle Hesperian, and outflow channels and possible standing bodies of water in the northern lowlands in the Late Hesperian and into the Amazonian.
  • Formation of Gullies on Mars: Link to Recent Climate History and Insolation Microenvironments Implicate Surface Water Flow Origin

    Formation of Gullies on Mars: Link to Recent Climate History and Insolation Microenvironments Implicate Surface Water Flow Origin

    Formation of gullies on Mars: Link to recent climate history and insolation microenvironments implicate surface water flow origin James W. Head*†, David R. Marchant‡, and Mikhail A. Kreslavsky*§ *Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912; ‡Department of Earth Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215; and §Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 Edited by John Imbrie, Brown University, Providence, RI, and approved July 18, 2008 (received for review April 17, 2008) Features seen in portions of a typical midlatitude Martian impact provide a context and framework of information in which their crater show that gully formation follows a geologically recent origin might be better understood. Assessment of the stratigraphic period of midlatitude glaciation. Geological evidence indicates relationships in a crater interior typical of many gully occurrences that, in the relatively recent past, sufficient snow and ice accumu- provides evidence that gully formation is linked to glaciation and to lated on the pole-facing crater wall to cause glacial flow and filling geologically recent climate change that provided conditions for of the crater floor with debris-covered glaciers. As glaciation snow/ice accumulation and top-down melting. waned, debris-covered glaciers ceased flowing, accumulation The distribution of gullies shows a latitudinal dependence on zones lost ice, and newly exposed wall alcoves continued as the Mars, exclusively poleward of 30° in each hemisphere (2, 14) with location for limited snow/frost deposition, entrapment, and pres- a distinct concentration in the 30–50° latitude bands (e.g., 2, 7, ervation. Analysis of the insolation geometry of this pole-facing 8, 14, 18).
  • Noachian Highland Crater Degradation on Mars: Assessing the Role of Regional Snow and Ice Deposits in a Cold and Icy Early Mars

    Noachian Highland Crater Degradation on Mars: Assessing the Role of Regional Snow and Ice Deposits in a Cold and Icy Early Mars

    45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2014) 1077.pdf NOACHIAN HIGHLAND CRATER DEGRADATION ON MARS: ASSESSING THE ROLE OF REGIONAL SNOW AND ICE DEPOSITS IN A COLD AND ICY EARLY MARS. D. K. Weiss1 and J. W. Head1, 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, U.S.A. ([email protected]) Introduction: The faint young sun [1,2] has led to the supposition that early Mars was cold [3-5]. The pres- ence of valley networks and the degraded state of high- land craters, however, has led many investigators to sug- gest that the martian climate in the Noachian was warm and wet, and that precipitation [6] in the form of rainfall [7] and fluvial activity are the likely causes of crater deg- radation. Recent climate models, however, have shown that climactic conditions in the Noachian could not have supported liquid water precipitation [8,9], and that re- gional snow and ice deposits, much like those inferred to be present in the Amazonian (Fig. 1) [10], pervaded the Noachian highlands [11]. Recent climate models have shown however, that unlike the Amazonian, slightly in- creased atmospheric pressures in the Noachian could allow the atmosphere to behave adiabatically [8], a sce- nario in which the Noachian southern highlands acts as a Figure 2. Typical Noachian highland crater and characteristics. cold trap and preferentially accumulates atmospheric suggests that they have been heavily degraded [7], alt- snow and ice deposits [11, 12]. Martian Noachian high- hough the mode of degradation has been debated (see land craters may give insight into conditions on early [7]).
  • Martian Perched Craters and Large Ejecta Volume: Evidence for Episodes of Deflation in the Northern Lowlands

    Martian Perched Craters and Large Ejecta Volume: Evidence for Episodes of Deflation in the Northern Lowlands

    Meteoritics & Planetary Science 41, Nr 10, 1647–1658 (2006) Abstract available online at http://meteoritics.org Martian perched craters and large ejecta volume: Evidence for episodes of deflation in the northern lowlands Sandrine MERESSE1*, François COSTARD1, Nicolas MANGOLD1, David BARATOUX2, and Joseph M. BOYCE3 1Laboratoire IDES-Orsay, Université Paris-Sud, UMR 8148, Bat 509, 91405 Orsay, France 2Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées, UMR 5562, 31400 Toulouse, France 3Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai’i, USA *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] (Received 28 October 2005; revision accepted 30 June 2006) Abstract–The northern lowland plains, such as those found in Acidalia and Utopia Planitia, have high percentages of impact craters with fluidized ejecta. In both regions, the analysis of crater geometry from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data has revealed large ejecta volumes, some exceeding the volume of excavation. Moreover, some of the crater cavities and fluidized ejecta blankets of these craters are topographically perched above the surrounding plains. These perched craters are concentrated between 40 and 70°N in the northern plains. The atypical high volumes of the ejecta and the perched craters suggest that the northern lowlands have experienced one or more episodes of resurfacing that involved deposition and erosion. The removal of material, most likely caused by the sublimation of ice in the materials and their subsequent erosion and transport by the wind, is more rapid on the plains than on the ejecta blankets. The thermal inertia difference between the ejecta and the surrounding plains suggests that ejecta, characterized by a lower thermal inertia, protect the underneath terrain from sublimation.
  • Estimating the Volume of Glacial Ice on Mars

    Estimating the Volume of Glacial Ice on Mars

    EPSC Abstracts Vol. 8, EPSC2013-111, 2013 European Planetary Science Congress 2013 EEuropeaPn PlanetarSy Science CCongress c Author(s) 2013 Estimating the volume of glacial ice on Mars: Geographic and geometric constraints on concentric crater fill, lineated valley fill, and lobate debris aprons along the Martian dichotomy boundary C. Fassett (1), J. Levy (2) and J. Head (3) (1) Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA, USA (2) University of Texas at Austin, USA (3) Brown University, Providence, RI, USA ([email protected]) Abstract Once the spatial extent of these features was established, we are using geometric tools to infer the Landforms inferred to have formed from volumetric extent of glacial landforms. For example, glacial processes are abundant on Mars and include for CCF, several morphometric properties were features such as concentric crater fill (CCF), lobate extracted from catalogues of northern hemisphere debris aprons (LDA), and lineated valley fill (LVF). crater morphologies [13] including: crater diameter, Here, we present new mapping of the spatial extent d and measured crater depth, Dm. CCF fill radius, rf of these landforms derived from CTX and THEMIS is measured from CTX images of the crater, VIS image data, and new geometric constraints on measured along two orthogonal profiles that span the the volume of glaciogenic fill material present in spatial limit of “brain terrain” surface texture or concentric crater fill deposits. concentric surface lineations. Using these quantities measured from MOLA 1. Introduction and CTX data, relationships between fresh-crater Debris-covered glacial landforms such as depths and diameters on Mars [14], coupled with CCF, LVF, and LDA are widespread on Mars and elementary calculus (solids of rotation), permit us to have been long inferred to represent locations of make quantitative estimates of CCF fill volume (note: abundant ground ice preserved at mid-latitude this method does not distinguish between prior fill locations [1-12].
  • Annual Report 2011-2012

    Annual Report 2011-2012

    ____2011 2012 Annual Report Cover Page Imprint Puzzle composed of six images (from the upper left to the lower right): Publisher International Space Science Institute 1. The Three Gorges Dam spans the Yangtze River in Hallerstrasse 6 east-central China, and is the world's largest power CH-3012 Bern station in terms of installed capacity, with its vast Switzerland reservoir stretching for 660 km (NASA, GSFC, METI, Tel.: +41 31 631 48 96 ERSDAC, JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Fax.: +41 31 631 48 97 Team). E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.issibern.ch 2. The High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESA’s Mars Express orbiter has obtained images of Hephaestus Editors Fossae, a region on Mars dotted with craters and Andrea Fischer and Rudolf von Steiger channel systems (ESA, DLR, FU Berlin (G. Neukum)). Concept/Layout 3. This X-ray image shows a comet-like blob of gas Andrea Fischer about 5 million light-years long hurling through a distant galaxy cluster at nearly 1 000 kilometres per Cover Design second (University of Maryland, Baltimore County Andrea Fischer (UMBC)). Printed by 4. Picture of the cosmic microwave background Länggass Druck AG (CMB) radiation which thermal radiation filling the Länggassstr. 65 observable universe almost uniformly (WMAP Sci- 3000 Bern 9 ence Team, NASA). Switzerland 5. The map of the surface of an exoplanet, or a planet beyond our solar system. The map, which shows temperature variations across the cloudy tops of a gas giant called HD 189733b, is made from in- frared data taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (NASA, JPL Caltech, H.
  • A MTAK Kiadványai 47. Budapest, 1966

    A MTAK Kiadványai 47. Budapest, 1966

    A MAGYAR TUDOMÁNYOS AKADÉMIA KÖNYVTARÁNAK KÖZLEMÉNYEI PUBLICATIONES BIBLIOTHECAE ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE 47. INDEX ÀCRONYMORUM SELECTORUM Institute* communicationis BUDAPEST, 1966 VOCABULARIUM ABBREVIATURARUM BIBLIOTHECARII III Index acronymorum selectorum 7. Instituta communicationis A MAGYAR TUDOMÁNYOS AKADÉMIA KÖNYVTARÁNAK KÖZLEMÉNYEI PUBLICATIONES BIBLIOTHECAE ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE 47. VOCABULARIUM ABBREVIATURARUM BIBLIOTHECARII Index acronymorum selectorum 7. Instituta communicationis BUDAPEST, 196 6 A MAGYAR TUDOMÁNYOS AKADÉMIA KÖNYVTARÁNAK KÖZLEMÉNYEI PUBLICATIONES BIBLIOTHECAE ACADEMIAE SCIENTIARUM HUNGARICAE 47. INDEX ACRONYMORUM SELECTORUM 7 Instituta communications. BUDAPEST, 1966 INDEX ACRONYMORUM SELECTORUM Pars. 7. Instituta communicationis. Adiuvantibus EDIT BODNÁ R-BERN ÁT H et MAGDA TULOK collegit et edidit dr. phil. ENDRE MORAVEK Lectores: Gyula Tárkányi Sámuel Papp © 1966 MTA Köynvtára F. к.: Rózsa György — Kiadja a MTA Könyvtára — Példányszám: 750 Alak A/4. - Terjedelem 47'/* A/5 ív 65395 - M.T.A. KESz sokszorosító v ELŐSZÓ "Vocabularium abbreviaturarum bibliothecarii" cimü munkánk ez ujabb füzete az "Index acronymorum selectorum" kötet részeként, a köz- lekedési és hírközlési intézmények /ilyen jellegű állami szervek, vasu- tak, légiközlekedési vállalatok, távirati irodák, sajtóügynökségek stb/ névröviditéseit tartalmazza. Az idevágó felsőbb fokú állami intézmények /pl. minisztériumok stb./ nevének acronymáit, amelyeket az "Instituta rerum publicarum" c. kötetben közöltünk, technikai okokból nem
  • Ancient Fluid Escape and Related Features in Equatorial Arabia Terra (Mars)

    Ancient Fluid Escape and Related Features in Equatorial Arabia Terra (Mars)

    EPSC Abstracts Vol. 7 EPSC2012-132-3 2012 European Planetary Science Congress 2012 EEuropeaPn PlanetarSy Science CCongress c Author(s) 2012 Ancient fluid escape and related features in equatorial Arabia Terra (Mars) F. Franchi(1), A. P. Rossi(2), M. Pondrelli(3), B. Cavalazzi(1), R. Barbieri(1), Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico Ambientali, Università di Bologna, via Zamboni 67, 40129 Bologna, Italy ([email protected]). 2Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany. 3IRSPS, Università D’Annunzio, Pescara, Italy. Abstract Noachian [1]. The ELDs are composed by light rocks showing a polygonal pattern, described elsewhere on Arabia Terra, in the equatorial region of Mars, is Mars [4], and is characterized by a high sinuosity of long-time studied area especially for the abundance the strata that locally follows a concentric trend of fluid related features. Detailed stratigraphic and informally called “pool and rim” structures (Fig. morphological study of the succession exposed in the 1A). Crommelin and Firsoff craters evidenced the occurrences of flow structures and spring deposits that endorse the presence of fluids circulation in the Late Noachian. All the morphologies in these two proto-basins occur within the Equatorial Layered Deposits (ELDs). 1. Introduction Martian layered spring deposits are of considerable interest for their supposed relationship with water and high potential of microbial signatures preservation. Their supposed fluid-related origin [1] makes the Equatorial Layered Deposits attractive targets for future missions with astrobiological purposes. In this study we report the occurrence of mounds fields and flow structures in Firsoff and Crommelin craters and summarize the result of a detailed study of the remote-sensing data sets available in this region.
  • 2. a Unique Volcanic Field in Tharsis, Mars: Pyroclastic Cones As Evidence for Explosive Eruptions

    2. a Unique Volcanic Field in Tharsis, Mars: Pyroclastic Cones As Evidence for Explosive Eruptions

    2. A unique volcanic field in Tharsis, Mars: Pyroclastic cones as evidence for explosive eruptions Petr Brož1,2 and Ernst Hauber3 1Institute of Geophysics ASCR, v.v.i., Prague, Czech Republic 2Institute of Petrology and Structural Geology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic 3Institute of Planetary Research, DLR, Berlin, Germany Status: Published in Icarus 218(1), doi: 10.1016/j.icarus.2011.11.030. 2.0. Abstract Based on theoretical grounds, explosive basaltic volcanism should be common on Mars, yet the available morphological evidence is sparse. We test this hypothesis by investigating a unique unnamed volcanic field north of the shield volcanoes Biblis Patera and Ulysses Patera on Mars, where we observe several small conical edifices and associated lava flows. Twenty-nine volcanic cones are identified and the morphometry of many of these edifices is determined using established morphometric parameters such as basal width, crater width, height, slope, and their respective ratios. Their morphology, morphometry, and a comparison to terrestrial analogs suggest that they are martian equivalents of terrestrial pyroclastic cones, the most common volcanoes on Earth. The cones are tentatively interpreted as monogenetic volcanoes. According to absolute model age determinations, they formed in the Amazonian period. Our results indicate that these pyroclastic cones were formed by explosive activity. The cone field is superposed on an old, elevated window of fractured crust which survived flooding by younger lava flows. It seems possible that a more explosive eruption style was common in the past, and that wide-spread effusive plain-style volcanism in the Late Amazonian has buried much of its morphological evidence in Tharsis.
  • Appendix I Lunar and Martian Nomenclature

    Appendix I Lunar and Martian Nomenclature

    APPENDIX I LUNAR AND MARTIAN NOMENCLATURE LUNAR AND MARTIAN NOMENCLATURE A large number of names of craters and other features on the Moon and Mars, were accepted by the IAU General Assemblies X (Moscow, 1958), XI (Berkeley, 1961), XII (Hamburg, 1964), XIV (Brighton, 1970), and XV (Sydney, 1973). The names were suggested by the appropriate IAU Commissions (16 and 17). In particular the Lunar names accepted at the XIVth and XVth General Assemblies were recommended by the 'Working Group on Lunar Nomenclature' under the Chairmanship of Dr D. H. Menzel. The Martian names were suggested by the 'Working Group on Martian Nomenclature' under the Chairmanship of Dr G. de Vaucouleurs. At the XVth General Assembly a new 'Working Group on Planetary System Nomenclature' was formed (Chairman: Dr P. M. Millman) comprising various Task Groups, one for each particular subject. For further references see: [AU Trans. X, 259-263, 1960; XIB, 236-238, 1962; Xlffi, 203-204, 1966; xnffi, 99-105, 1968; XIVB, 63, 129, 139, 1971; Space Sci. Rev. 12, 136-186, 1971. Because at the recent General Assemblies some small changes, or corrections, were made, the complete list of Lunar and Martian Topographic Features is published here. Table 1 Lunar Craters Abbe 58S,174E Balboa 19N,83W Abbot 6N,55E Baldet 54S, 151W Abel 34S,85E Balmer 20S,70E Abul Wafa 2N,ll7E Banachiewicz 5N,80E Adams 32S,69E Banting 26N,16E Aitken 17S,173E Barbier 248, 158E AI-Biruni 18N,93E Barnard 30S,86E Alden 24S, lllE Barringer 29S,151W Aldrin I.4N,22.1E Bartels 24N,90W Alekhin 68S,131W Becquerei
  • 1 Fluids Mobilization in Arabia Terra, Mars

    1 Fluids Mobilization in Arabia Terra, Mars

    Fluids mobilization in Arabia Terra, Mars: depth of pressurized reservoir from mounds self- similar clustering Riccardo Pozzobon1, Francesco Mazzarini2, Matteo Massironi1, Angelo Pio Rossi3, Monica Pondrelli4, Gabriele Cremonese5, Lucia Marinangeli6 1 Department of Geosciences, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Gradenigo 6 - 35131, Padova, Italy 2 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Via Della Faggiola, 32 - 56100 Pisa, Italy 3 Department of Physics and Earth Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Campus Ring 1 -28759 Bremen, Germany 4 International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Università d'Annunzio, viale Pindaro 42 – 65127, Pescara, Italy 5 INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5 - 35122, Padova, Italy 6 Laboratorio di Telerilevamento e Planetologia, DISPUTer, Universita' G. d'Annunzio, Via Vestini 31 - 66013 Chieti, Italy Abstract Arabia Terra is a region of Mars where signs of past-water occurrence are recorded in several landforms. Broad and local scale geomorphological, compositional and hydrological analyses point towards pervasive fluid circulation through time. In this work we focus on mound fields located in the interior of three casters larger than 40 km (Firsoff, Kotido and unnamed crater 20 km to the east) and showing strong morphological and textural resemblance to terrestrial mud volcanoes and spring-related features. We infer that these landforms likely testify the presence of a pressurized fluid reservoir at depth and past fluid upwelling. We have performed morphometric analyses to characterize the mound morphologies and consequently retrieve an accurate automated mapping of the mounds within the craters for spatial distribution and fractal clustering analysis. The outcome of the fractal clustering yields information about the possible extent of the percolating fracture network at depth below the craters.
  • GEOLOGIC MAPS of the OLYMPUS MONS REGION of MARS by Elliot C. Morris and Kenneth L. Tanaka

    GEOLOGIC MAPS of the OLYMPUS MONS REGION of MARS by Elliot C. Morris and Kenneth L. Tanaka

    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEOLOGIC MAPS OF THE OLYMPUS MONS REGION OF MARS By Elliot C. Morris and Kenneth L. Tanaka Prepared for the NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION ..... t\:) a 0 a0 0 0 )> z 0 ..... ..... MISCELLANEOUS INVESTIGATIONS SERIES a 0 Published by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1994 a0 0 0 3: ~ U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TO ACCOMPANY MAP I-2327 U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEOLOGIC MAPS OF THE OLYMPUS MONS REGION OF MARS By Elliot C. Morris and Kenneth L. Tanaka INTRODUCTION measurements of relief valuable in determining such factors as Olympus Mons is one of the broadest volcanoes and volcano volume, structural offsets, and lava-flow rheology. certainly the tallest in the Solar System. It has been extensively Except for the difference in extent of the areas mapped, the described and analyzed in scientific publications and frequently topographic information, the cartographic control (latitudes noted in the popular and nontechnical literature of Mars. and longitudes of features may differ by as much as a few tenths However, the first name given to the feature-Nix Olympica of a degree), and the greater detail permitted by the larger scale (Schiaparelli, 1879)-was based on its albedo, not its size, base, the two maps are virtually the same. A comparison of our because early telescopic observations of Mars revealed only map units with those of other Viking-based maps is given in albedo features and not topography (lnge and others, 1971). table 1. After Mariner 9 images acquired in 1971 showed that this Unravellng the geology of the Olympus Mons region is not albedo feature coincides with a giant shield volcano (McCauley limited to a simple exercise in stratigraphy.