Evidence for Hesperian glaciation along the Martian dichotomy boundary

Dávila, Alfonso F.; Fairén, Alberto González; Stokes, Chris R.; Platz, Thomas; Rodriguez, A. Palmero; Lacelle, Denis; Dohm, J. M.; Pollard, W. H.

doi:10.1130/g34201.1

Cited by 64 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…2D ), indicating that they formed during the time interval separating the two tsunami events. Active resurfacing leading to the formation of these troughs likely lasted a few million years and could have been the result of Late Hesperian glacial erosion 17 . Crater-count statistics show that, while the deposits formed during the Late Hesperian Epoch, their absolute ages could differ as much as several tens of millions of years (see supplementary crater statistics ).…”

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confidence: 99%

Tsunami waves extensively resurfaced the shorelines of an early Martian ocean

Rodriguez

Fairén

Tanaka

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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131

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It has been proposed that ~3.4 billion years ago an ocean fed by enormous catastrophic floods covered most of the Martian northern lowlands. However, a persistent problem with this hypothesis is the lack of definitive paleoshoreline features. Here, based on geomorphic and thermal image mapping in the circum-Chryse and northwestern Arabia Terra regions of the northern plains, in combination with numerical analyses, we show evidence for two enormous tsunami events possibly triggered by bolide impacts, resulting in craters ~30 km in diameter and occurring perhaps a few million years apart. The tsunamis produced widespread littoral landforms, including run-up water-ice-rich and bouldery lobes, which extended tens to hundreds of kilometers over gently sloping plains and boundary cratered highlands, as well as backwash channels where wave retreat occurred on highland-boundary surfaces. The ice-rich lobes formed in association with the younger tsunami, showing that their emplacement took place following a transition into a colder global climatic regime that occurred after the older tsunami event. We conclude that, on early Mars, tsunamis played a major role in generating and resurfacing coastal terrains.

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confidence: 99%

Tsunami waves extensively resurfaced the shorelines of an early Martian ocean

Rodriguez

Fairén

Tanaka

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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131

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“…Therefore, we argue that additional sources of water, for example via groundwater release or the thickening of the Martian atmosphere 4 , 14 were required. Furthermore, this increase in ocean elevation is also supported by a change from cryogenic-like climatic conditions 37 towards a warmer climate permitting orographic precipitation-sourced runoff 4 , 35 , 38 , 39 across the Hesperian. Thus, our results are consistent with a warmer and wetter early climate, which enabled the formation of a vast Hesperian ocean in the Northern Hemisphere and may have had profound implications on the potential habitability of the planet.…”

Section: Results and Interpretationsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The Kasei Valles, Mars: a unified record of episodic channel flows and ancient ocean levels

Duran

Coulthard

2020

Sci Rep

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There is widespread evidence across Mars of past flows in major channel systems as well as more than one palaeo ocean level. However, evidence for the timing of channel flows and ocean levels is based on geographically diverse sources with a limited number of dates, making reconstructions of palaeo flows and ocean levels patchy. Here, based on high-resolution topography, image analysis and crater statistics, we have dated 35 different surfaces in Kasei Valles, that are predominantly found within erosional units enabling us to reconstruct a fascinating timeline of episodic flooding events (ranging from 3.7 to 3.6 Ga to ca. 2.0 Ga) interacting with changing ocean/base levels. The temporal correlation of the different surfaces indicates five periods of channel flows driving the evolution of Kasei Valles, in conjunction with the development of (at least) two ocean levels. Furthermore, our results imply that such ocean rose in elevation (ca. 1000 m) between ca. 3.6 Ga and 3.2 Ga and soon afterwards disappeared, thereby indicating a complex ancient Martian hydrosphere capable of supporting a vast ocean, with an active hydrological cycle stretching into the Amazonian.

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“…Glacial features at the dichotomy boundary in particular the formation of Aeolis Mensae fretted terrains show early Hesperian glacial activity on one present deflated lobate flow feature (50 km across) at 3.68 Ga (Davila et al, 2013). Lineated valley fill in Deuteronilus Mensae exhibit some young smaller features (2-3 km) of an age of 10-100 ka .…”

Section: Glacial Featuresmentioning

confidence: 95%

Quantifying geological processes on Mars—Results of the high resolution stereo camera (HRSC) on Mars express

Jaumann

Tirsch

Hauber

et al. 2015

Planetary and Space Science

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a b s t r a c tThis review summarizes the use of High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) data as an instrumental tool and its application in the analysis of geological processes and landforms on Mars during the last 10 years of operation. High-resolution digital elevations models on a local to regional scale are the unique strength of the HRSC instrument. The analysis of these data products enabled quantifying geological processes such as effusion rates of lava flows, tectonic deformation, discharge of water in channels, formation timescales of deltas, geometry of sedimentary deposits as well as estimating the age of geological units by crater size-frequency distribution measurements. Both the quantification of geological processes and the age determination allow constraining the evolution of Martian geologic activity in space and time. A second major contribution of HRSC is the discovery of episodicity in the intensity of geological processes on Mars. This has been revealed by comparative age dating of volcanic, fluvial, glacial, and lacustrine deposits.Volcanic processes on Mars have been active over more than 4 Gyr, with peak phases in all three geologic epochs, generally ceasing towards the Amazonian. Fluvial and lacustrine activity phases spread a time span from Noachian until Amazonian times, but detailed studies show that they have been interrupted by multiple and long Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

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Evidence for Hesperian glaciation along the Martian dichotomy boundary

Cited by 64 publications

References 23 publications

Tsunami waves extensively resurfaced the shorelines of an early Martian ocean

Tsunami waves extensively resurfaced the shorelines of an early Martian ocean

The Kasei Valles, Mars: a unified record of episodic channel flows and ancient ocean levels

Quantifying geological processes on Mars—Results of the high resolution stereo camera (HRSC) on Mars express

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