Front Cover

Dynamic Mars

Dynamic Mars

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Contents

List of Contributors

MARINERS’ WAY: BEYOND THE FUTURE TO THE PAST

1. THE FUTURE

2. THE PAST

3. NOTES

1 - LATE AMAZONIAN EPOCH CLIMATE

1 - ORBITAL (CLIMATIC) FORCING AND ITS IMPRINT ON THE GLOBAL LANDSCAPE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

1.1.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF MARS CLIMATE OBSERVATIONS

1.1.2 THE PRESENT ATMOSPHERE OF MARS

1.2 CLIMATE FORCING

1.2.1 OBLIQUITY

1.2.2 ECCENTRICITY

1.2.3 ARGUMENT OF PERIHELION

1.2.4 TOTAL INSOLATION

1.2.5 ORBITAL-DRIVEN CIRCULATION

1.2.6 SURFACE PROPERTIES

1.2.7 PUTTING IT TOGETHER

1.3 VOLATILE EMPLACEMENT

1.3.1 SURFACE LAYERING

1.3.2 ATMOSPHERIC DUST

1.3.3 SUBSURFACE ICE AND VAPOR DIFFUSION

1.3.4 LIQUID WATER

1.4 MORPHOLOGICAL EVIDENCE FOR RECENT CLIMATE CHANGE

1.4.1 POLAR ICE

1.4.2 HIGH-LATITUDE ICE

1.4.2.1 Observations by Mars Odyssey Gamma Ray Spectrometer

1.4.2.2 Measurements by the Mars Phoenix Lander

1.4.3 MID-LATITUDE ICE

1.4.3.1 Latitude-Dependent Mantle

1.4.3.2 Pedestal Craters

1.4.3.3 Other Impact Craters

1.4.3.4 Expanded Impact Craters

1.4.3.5 Scalloped Depressions

1.4.3.6 Putative Periglacial Landforms

1.4.3.7 Terraced Craters

1.4.4 OTHER MID- AND LOW-LATITUDE ICE DEPOSITS

1.4.4.1 Pasted-on Terrain and Gullies

1.4.4.2 Lobate Debris Aprons, Lineated Valley Fill, and Ice-Rich Flows

1.4.4.3 Radar Observations

1.4.4.4 Tropical Mountain Glaciers

1.5 CONCLUSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

2 - RECENT SURFACE WATER AT/NEARTHE MID-LATITUDES?

2 - UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF RECURRING SLOPE LINEAE

2.1 INTRODUCTION

2.2 METHODS

2.3 OBSERVATIONS

2.3.1 GLOBAL

2.3.2 SOUTHERN MIDLATITUDE

2.3.3 VALLES MARINERIS

2.3.4 CHRYSE AND ACIDALIA PLANITIAE

2.3.5 KASEI VALLES

2.3.6 CERBERUS FOSSAE

2.3.7 MARGARITIFER AND ARABIA TERRAE

2.3.8 LOW-ALBEDO TROPICAL HIGHLANDS

2.4 DISCUSSION

2.4.1 RECURRING SLOPE LINEAE VERSUS SLOPE STREAKS

2.4.2 RECURRING SLOPE LINEAE SEASONALITY

2.5 MECHANISMS

2.5.1 DRY GRANULAR FLOW MECHANISMS

2.5.2 WET-TRIGGERED DEBRIS FLOW MECHANISMS

2.5.3 WET-DOMINATED FLOW MECHANISMS

2.5.4 MECHANISM DISCUSSION

2.6 SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

3 - MARTIAN GULLIES AND THEIR CONNECTION WITH THE MARTIAN CLIMATE

3.1 INTRODUCTION

3.2 CLIMATIC ORIGINS FOR MARTIAN GULLIES

3.2.1 MELTING OF WATER ICE

3.2.1.1 Aquifer

3.2.1.2 Ground Ice

3.2.1.3 Atmospheric Ice Deposits

3.2.1.4 Melting the Ice

3.2.2 CO2 SUBLIMATION

3.3 APPROACH

3.4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.4.1 ZERO-CELSIUS CYCLES

3.4.2 CO2 DEPOSITION

3.4.3 SUMMARY

3.5 CONCLUSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

4 - LATE AMAZONIAN–AGED CHANNEL AND ISLAND SYSTEMS LOCATED EAST OF OLYMPUS MONS, MARS

4.1 INTRODUCTION

4.2 METHODS AND TERMINOLOGY

4.3 THE NORTHWESTERN THARSIS CHANNELS AND ISLANDS

4.3.1 REGIONAL PHYSIOGRAPHIC PROVINCES

4.3.1.1 The Olympica Region

4.3.1.2 The Cyane–Pavonis Flows and Channels

4.3.1.3 The Gordii Region

4.4 STREAMLINED FORMS AND ISLANDS

4.4.1 ORIGINS OF STREAMLINED FORMS: A SHORT REVIEW

4.4.1.1 Streamlined Morphologies

4.4.1.2 Islands Formed in Water

4.4.1.3 Streamlined Forms in Glaciated Areas

4.4.1.4 Volcanic Islands

4.4.1.5 Tectonic and Collapse (Irregular) Islands

4.4.2 MORPHOLOGIES OF ISLANDS IN THE NORTHWESTERN THARSIS REGION: OBSERVATIONS

4.4.2.1 Streamlined (Rounded) Islands

4.4.2.1.1 Crater/Mesa-Cored Islands

4.4.2.1.2 Pendant Forms

4.4.2.2 Irregular and Polygonal Islands

4.4.2.2.1 Irregular Residual Islands

4.4.2.2.2 Irregular Residual Islands Associated With Collapse and Pits

4.4.2.2.3 Kipukas Formed by Volcanic Flooding

4.4.2.2.4 Accreted Islands

4.4.2.2.5 Negative Channel Feature

4.4.2.2.6 Platy Terrains

4.4.2.3 Layered Structures

4.4.3 ISLAND AND CHANNEL MORPHOLOGIES AND FORMATION MODELS

4.4.3.1 Methods

4.4.3.2 Perched Channels

4.4.3.3 Fissure-Fed Multilevel Systems

4.4.3.4 Trough–Rille–Pit Systems

4.4.3.5 Distributary Ridges and Serpentes

4.5 AGES

4.5.1 GLOBAL EVOLUTION OF OUTFLOW CHANNEL TYPES

4.5.2 MAPPING OF THE NORTHWESTERN THARSIS REGION

4.5.2.1 Crater Counting

4.5.2.1.1 Results

4.6 FUTURE DIRECTIONS

4.7 CONCLUSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

3 - THE POLAR REGIONS

5 - THE EXOTIC PROCESSES DRIVING EPHEMERAL SEASONAL SURFACE CHANGE ON MARS

5.1 INTRODUCTION

5.2 HISTORY OF DYNAMIC MARS: FROM DISK SKETCHES TO HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGING

5.3 HIGH-LATITUDE SEASONAL PROCESSES

5.3.1 BACKGROUND FOR SMALL-SCALE ACTIVITY: SEASONAL POLAR CAPS AND MARTIAN POLAR SEASONS

5.3.2 SWISS CHEESE

5.3.3 DARK FANS, BRIGHT FANS, DARK SPOTS, AND BLOTCHES

5.3.4 SEASONAL ICE CRACKS

5.3.5 THE SPECIAL CASE OF DUNES: DARK FLOWS, CRACKS, AND FRIED EGGS

5.4 MIDLATITUDE SEASONAL PROCESSES

5.4.1 GULLIES AND CO2 ACTIVITY

5.5 LOW LATITUDE SEASONAL PROCESSES

5.5.1 RECURRING SLOPE LINEAE AND KNUDSEN PUMP EFFECT

5.6 CONCLUSION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

6 - CO2-DRIVEN GEOMORPHOLOGICAL PROCESSES: LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION

6.1 ARANEIFORMS

6.2 FURROWS

6.3 NEW DENDRITIC TROUGHS

6.4 POLAR GULLIES

6.5 RESIDUAL POLAR CAP SCARP AVALANCHES

6.6 DEGRADATION OF “SWISS CHEESE” TERRAIN

6.7 CONCLUSION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

FURTHER READING

4 - GLACIAL AND PERIGLACIAL LANDSCAPES

7 - PALEO-PERIGLACIAL AND “ICE-RICH” COMPLEXES IN UTOPIA PLANITIA

7.1 INTRODUCTION

7.2 METHODS

7.3 OBSERVATIONS

7.3.1 INTRA- AND INTERCRATER (RIMLESS) DEPRESSIONS

7.3.2 CLASTICALLY NONSORTED AND SMALL-SIZED POLYGONS

7.3.3 CLASTICALLY SORTED AND SMALL-SIZED POLYGONS

7.3.4 MANTLED TERRAIN, BOULDER FIELDS, AND (BOULDER-SIZED) CLASTS

7.4 PERIGLACIATION ON EARTH

7.4.1 THERMOKARST, EXCESS ICE, AND ALASES

7.4.2 SMALL-SIZED AND NONSORTED POLYGONS

7.4.2.1 Thermal-Contraction Cracking and Ice-Wedge Polygons

7.4.2.2 Sand-Wedge, Composite, and Sublimation-Enhanced Polygons

7.4.3 CLASTICALLY SORTED AND SMALL-SIZED POLYGONS: FORMATIVE CONDITIONS

7.4.3.1 Small-Sized Polygons: Clast Origin

7.4.3.2 Small-Sized Polygons: (Boulder-Sized) Clasts and Soils

7.4.3.3 Small-Sized Polygons: Clast, Soils, and the Process of Polygonized (Periglacial) Sorting

7.4.3.4 Sorted Polygons and Preglacial Periglaciation

7.5 GEOLOGICAL CONCILIATION

7.5.1 A FRAMEWORK OF ANALYSIS

7.5.2 MARS–EARTH LANDSCAPE COMPLEXES

7.5.3 WEATHERED BASALT VERSUS ICE DUST

7.6 A PROPOSED PERIGLACIAL GEOCHRONOLOGY

7.7 CONCLUSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

8 - SLOW PERIGLACIAL MASS WASTING (SOLIFLUCTION) ON MARS

8.1 INTRODUCTION

8.1.1 CONTEXT

8.1.2 SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS TO DATE

8.2 SOLIFLUCTION ON EARTH

8.3 SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS WORK ON SMALL-SCALE LOBES IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE

8.4 DATA AND METHODS

8.5 KEY GEOMORPHOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AND INTERPRETATIONS

8.5.1 HENBURY CRATER

8.5.2 RUHEA CRATER

8.5.3 YAREN CRATER

8.5.4 LATITUDINAL DISTRIBUTION OF LOBES IN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE

8.6 DISCUSSION

8.6.1 MARTIAN SMALL-SCALE LOBES IN RELATION TO OTHER LANDFORMS WITH GROUND-ICE AFFINITY

8.6.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF LOBES WITH STRIPES FROM EARTH ANALOGUES

8.6.3 ICE TABLE, ACTIVE LAYER, AND ICE-LENS FORMATION

8.6.4 SPATIAL ASSOCIATION WITH GULLY LANDFORMS

8.6.5 IMPLICATIONS FOR LIQUID WATER AND CLIMATE

8.6.6 ALTERNATIVE MECHANISMS

8.7 CONCLUSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

5 - VOLCANISM

9 - VOLCANIC DISRUPTION OF RECENT ICY TERRAIN IN THE ARGYRE BASIN, MARS

9.1 INTRODUCTION

9.2 OBSERVATIONS

9.2.1 CAVI, MAAR-LIKE CRATERS, AND TECTONICS

9.3 DISCUSSION

9.3.1 FORMATION OF CAVI AND MAAR-LIKE CRATERS

9.3.2 THE DISRUPTION OF ICY SURFACE VOLATILES

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

6 - AEOLIAN PROCESSES

10 - DUST DEVILS: STIRRING UP THE MARTIAN SURFACE

10.1 INTRODUCTION

10.2 OBSERVATIONS

10.2.1 ORBITAL OBSERVATIONS

10.2.2 SURFACE OBSERVATIONS

10.2.3 DISTRIBUTION

10.2.4 TEMPORAL OCCURRENCE

10.3 DUST DEVIL CHARACTERISTICS

10.3.1 SIZES AND LIFETIMES

10.3.2 HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL, AND TANGENTIAL VELOCITIES

10.3.3 PRESSURE DROP MAGNITUDES

10.3.4 DUST FLUXES

10.4 DUST DEVIL TRACKS

10.5 GLOBAL IMPACT

10.6 SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

REFERENCES

FURTHER READING

11 - DARK DUNES OF MARS: AN ORBIT-TO-GROUND MULTIDISCIPLINARY PERSPECTIVE OF AEOLIAN SCIENCE

11.1 INTRODUCTION

11.1.1 SETTING THE SCENE: A GEOLOGICAL TIMELINE OF FORM AND PROCESS

11.2 PART 1. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE FROM ORBIT

11.2.1 GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF DUNES AND RIPPLES

11.2.2 GLOBAL GEOGRAPHY OF SAND SEAS

11.3 GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SCIENCE FROM ORBIT—SAND MOVEMENT AND SAND TYPES

11.3.1 BEDFORM MIGRATION AND SAND FLUX

11.3.2 SEDIMENT SOURCES, PATHWAYS, AND MINERALOGY

11.4 PART 2. EYES FROM ABOVE: THE LANDSCAPES OF GALE CRATER

11.4.1 FROM MARINER 9 TO MARS RECONNAISSANCE ORBITER

11.4.2 LANDSCAPE OF RIVERS AND LAKES

11.4.3 LANDSCAPE OF YARDANGS AND ZEUGEN

11.4.4 DUNESCAPES AND WIND REGIMES

11.4.5 OROGRAPHIC AND TOPOGRAPHIC EFFECTS

11.5 PART 3. WHEELS ON THE GROUND: THE BAGNOLD DUNEFIELD

11.5.1 MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY

11.5.2 AEOLIAN PROCESS IN A WIND-LIMITED ENVIRONMENT

11.5.3 THE RIPPLE ENIGMA

11.5.4 MINERALOGY OF THE BAGNOLD DUNE SANDS

11.5.5 DUNE SAND GRAIN SIZE

11.5.6 DUNE SAND PROVENANCE

11.6 FUTURE DIRECTIONS

11.6.1 DEDICATION

REFERENCES

FURTHER READING

7 - OTHER SURFACE-MODIFICATION PROCESSES

12 - MODIFICATION OF THE MARTIAN SURFACE BY IMPACT CRATERING

12.1 INTRODUCTION

12.2 PRIMARY IMPACT CRATERS

12.3 SECONDARY CRATERS

12.4 DISCUSSION

12.5 CONCLUSIONS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

REFERENCES

13 - STONE PAVEMENTS, LAG DEPOSITS, AND CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION

13.1 INTRODUCTION

13.2 CLASSIFICATION

13.3 EARTH ANALOG MODELS

13.3.1 EOLIAN DEFLATION

13.3.2 WASH

13.3.3 UPWARD MIGRATION OF CLASTS

13.3.4 ACCRETION OF EOLIAN FINES

13.3.5 SUBSURFACE ROCK DECAY

13.4 GRAVEL SOURCE AND CLAST-SIZE REDUCTION

13.5 NATURE OF MARTIAN LAG AND STONE PAVEMENT SURFACES

13.6 CLAST SOURCE AND SIZE REDUCTION

13.7 MODELS OF LAG FORMATION ON MARS

13.7.1 LAG-DOMINATED LANDSCAPES

13.7.2 EOLIAN LAG

13.7.3 WASH LAG

13.7.4 SUBLIMATION LAG

13.7.5 ROCK DECAY LAG

13.7.6 IMPACT GARDENING

13.8 A MODEL OF LAG-DOMINATED LANDSCAPE EVOLUTION

13.9 MODELS OF STONE PAVEMENT FORMATION ON MARS

13.9.1 EOLIAN PAVEMENTS

13.9.2 CUMULIC PEDOGENIC MODEL

13.9.3 FLUVIAL PAVEMENTS

13.9.4 ROCK DECAY PAVEMENTS

13.10 CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

FURTHER READING

14 - KARST LANDFORMS AS MARKERS OF RECENT CLIMATE CHANGE ON MARS: AN EXAMPLE FROM A LATE AMAZONIAN EPOCH EVAPORATE-KARST WITHIN A TROUGH IN WESTERN NOCTIS LABYRINTHUS

14.1 INTRODUCTION

14.2 METHODS

14.3 STUDY AREA

14.4 MORPHOLOGICAL AND MORPHOMETRIC ANALYSES OF NOCTIS LABYRINTHUS FEATURES

14.5 DISCUSSION

14.5.1 THE ORIGIN OF THE DEPRESSIONS

14.5.1.1 Aeolian Processes

14.5.1.2 Impact Craters

14.5.1.3 Volcanic Processes

14.5.1.4 Tectonism

14.5.1.5 Groundwater Sapping

14.5.1.6 Thermokarst

14.5.1.7 Karst Processes

14.5.2 MORPHOGENESIS OF KARST LANDFORMS

14.5.3 KARST AND CLIMATE

14.5.4 AGE OF KARST

14.6 CONCLUSIONS

REFERENCES

FURTHER READING

An Epilogue

REFERENCES

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

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