Ancient alluvial plains at Oxia Planum, Mars

Davis, J. M.; Balme, M. R.; Fawdon, P.; Grindrod, Peter M.; Favaro, Elena A.; Banham, S. G.; Thomas, N.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117904

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Additional contextual evidence precludes the survival of small constructional landforms over geological time: the mounds are in a region with multitudes of other erosional landforms such as inverted channels (Davis et al., 2022; Fawdon et al., 2021a, 2022), inverted craters (Quantin‐Nataf et al., 2021; Roberts et al., 2021), Periodic Bedrock Ridges (Favaro et al., 2021; Silvestro et al., 2021), and the DRU (Fawdon et al., 2021a; Quantin‐Nataf et al., 2021). These, along with the low surface dust index (Ruff & Christensen, 2002) and population of aeolian bedforms indicative of transport over a long period of time (Favaro et al., 2021), are indicative of an erosive environment in Oxia Planum.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

et al. 2022

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Oxia Planum is the planned landing site of ESA's ExoMars "Rosalind Franklin" rover (Vago et al., 2017). This low-relief plain is situated on the hemispheric dichotomy boundary in the transitional terrain (classified as HNCc1-Early Hesperian to Late Noachian in Tanaka et al. (2005)) between the ancient, rugged highlands of Arabia Terra and the younger, smoother lowlands of Chryse Planitia. Rosalind Franklin will investigate the surface and subsurface geologic and geochemical environments of Oxia Planum, with a primary objective to search for evidence of extinct life through the identification of potential habitable paleoenvironments and biosignatures (Vago et al., 2017). Oxia Planum contains a diversity of Noachian-aged geologic features and geochemical characteristics which make it a suitable candidate for astrobiological exploration, including extensive Fe/Mg-rich clay-bearing plains indicative of widespread aqueous alteration (e.g.,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

et al. 2022

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“…Western Arabia Terra lies close to Mars' highland‐lowland transitional boundary, east of Chryse and Acidalia Planitia (Figure 1). The region comprises predominantly heavily cratered Noachian and Hesperian terrain (Tanaka, Skinner, et al., 2014), with a complex geological history and stratigraphy that includes the deposits of extensive river systems (Davis et al., 2016, 2023; Fawdon et al., 2022). Tectonic deformation has occurred throughout the region, as evidenced by widespread shortening structures (formation ages unknown; Woodley et al., 2023).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeated and Long‐Lasting Fault Activation on Amazonian Mars as Demonstrated by Tectonically Induced Landslides

Woodley,

Fawdon,

Balme

et al. 2024

Geophysical Research Letters

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We identify and analyze a large shortening structure (surface expression of a thrust fault) in western Arabia Terra, Mars, exhibiting recent, repeated, and long‐lasting tectonic activity. Where the fault system deforms Marsabit crater rim, four landslides with differing degradation states extend onto the crater floor. We propose these were triggered by episodic re‐activation of the thrust system. Using a morphological map and crater size frequency statistics we show that the fault system experienced at least four landslide‐inducing events during the Middle to Late Amazonian. We note that 1.4 km total displacement on the fault plane must have required many events to accumulate if motion was by brittle failure rather than continuous creep. The current understanding of tectonic activity and stress‐sources since 3.6 Ga, cannot account for these repeated and large Amazonian marsquakes—suggesting revaluation of sources of stress to account for a more active and complex Amazonian tectonic history.

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“…Te 150 by 15 km landing site is located at a latitude of 18 °N at the margin of Chryse Planitia basin. Te major geologic characteristics of the landing area of Rosalind Franklin are that it is ancient [2] and morphological and compositional orbital observations suggest a paleoenvironment where water played a key role [3,4]. Oxia Planum's thermophysical and compositional characteristics are a matter of debate since in the literature, we fnd several estimates of thermal inertia for a variety of its terrains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal Modeling of Oxia Planum: Thermophysical Characterization of the Dark Resistant Unit (DRU) in the Germania Lacus

Formisano

Altieri

Frigeri

et al. 2023

Advances in Astronomy

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The aim of this work is to characterize, from a thermophysical perspective, the dark resistant unit (DRU) characterizing Germania Lacus in the Oxia Planum Region, providing new insights to constrain the nature of the materials which compose this unit. We investigated the temperature distribution of the DRU by adopting common values of the thermophysical parameters of the basalt and by exploring several values of porosity. As an additional case, we also explore a composition made of pebbles. The numerical model developed here represents a follow-up of the work recently published by Formisano et al. 2021, and it takes into account a large-scale topography of the site and assumes a diurnal temperature profile for the atmosphere rather than a constant value (unlike Formisano et al. 2021). Comparisons with Mars Pathfinder and Viking data as well as numerical models are also reported. The methodology described here could be useful to characterize as well other sites on Mars’ surface with available small-scale topographic data.

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Ancient alluvial plains at Oxia Planum, Mars

Cited by 9 publications

References 43 publications

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

Repeated and Long‐Lasting Fault Activation on Amazonian Mars as Demonstrated by Tectonically Induced Landslides

Thermal Modeling of Oxia Planum: Thermophysical Characterization of the Dark Resistant Unit (DRU) in the Germania Lacus

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