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