Fluvial stratigraphy of valley fills at Aeolis Dorsa, Mars: Evidence for base-level fluctuations controlled by a downstream water body

Cardenas, B. T.; Mohrig, David; Goudge, T. A.

doi:10.1130/b31567.1

Cited by 51 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…6) and have paleo-current directions similar to the caprock, suggesting similar channel-belt orientations at different time periods. Similar observations of channel-belt stacking on Mars have been taken as evidence that ridges are deposits within a broader incised valley that has guided channel-belt orientations(Cardenas et al, 2017).…”

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confidence: 59%

“…3), which can be observed in examples for both modern and ancient systems (e.g., Fernandes et al, 2016;Martin et al, 2018). On Mars, supporting observations for deposit inversion includes ridges at distinct stratigraphic levels and ridges comprised of amalgamated channel deposits (Malin and Edgett, 2003;Moore et al, 2003;Burr et al, 2009Burr et al, , 2010DiBiase et al, 2013;Kite et al, 2013Kite et al, , 2015aCardenas et al, 2017).…”

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confidence: 70%

“…2A). Because of their putative connection to river processes, sinuous ridges on Mars have been used to infer paleo-hydrology (Fassett and Head, 2005;Burr et al, 2010;Irwin et al, 2015), global history of water (Kite et al, 2015a, b), tectonics (Lefort et al, 2015), and large oceans or seas (DiBiase et al, 2013;Cardenas et al, 2017). In addition to being detectable and measurable from orbital data, they also are valuable to rover missions due to their presence in Gale Crater, the site of the Mars Science Laboratory rover (Anderson and Bell, 2010;Le Deit et al, 2013;Palucis et al, 2014), and in several sites of interest for future missions (e.g., Eberswalde crater (Irwin et al, 2015), Holden crater (Grant and Wilson, 2012), Jezero Crater (Goudge et al, 2018), Mawrth Valles (Loizeau et al, 2015), Melas Chasma (Williams and Weitz, 2014), and Aram Dorsum ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Formation of sinuous ridges by inversion of river-channel belts in Utah, USA, with implications for Mars

Hayden

Lamb

Fischer

et al. 2019

Icarus

154

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Sinuous ridges are important landforms on the surface of Mars that show promise for quantifying ancient martian surface hydrology. Morphological similarity of these ridges to river channels in planform led to a hypothesis that ridges are topographically inverted river channels, or "inverted channels", formed due to an erosion-resistant channel-filling material that preserved a snapshot of the channel geometry in inverted relief due to differential erosion. An alternative depositinversion hypothesis proposes that ridges represent exhumed river-channel belts, with geometries that reflect the lateral migration and vertical aggradation of rivers over significant geologic time, rather than the original channel geometry. To investigate these hypotheses we studied sinuous ridges within the Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation near Green River, Utah, USA. Ridges in Utah extend for hundreds of meters, are up to 120 meters wide, and stand up to 39 meters above the surrounding plain. Ridges are capped by sandstone bodies 3-10 meters thick that contain dune-and bar-scale inclined stratification, which we interpret as eroded remnants of channel ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 2 4/18/2019 12:45 PM belts that record the migration and aggradation of single-thread, sand-bedded rivers, rather than channel fills that can preserve the original channel geometry. Caprocks overlie mudstones and thinner sandstone beds that are interpreted as floodplain deposits, and in cases additional channel-belt sandstones are present lower in the ridge stratigraphy. Apparent networks from branching ridges typically represent discrete sandstone bodies that cross at different stratigraphic levels rather than a coeval river network. Ridge-forming sandstone bodies also have been narrowed during exhumation by cliff retreat and bisected by fluvial erosion. Using a large compilation of channel-belt geometries on Earth and our measurements of ridges in Utah, we propose that caprock thickness is the most reliable indicator of paleo-channel geometry, and can be used to reconstruct river depth and discharge. In contrast, channel lateral migration and caprock erosion during exhumation make ridge breadth an uncertain proxy for channel width. An example in Aeolis Dorsa, Mars, illustrates that river discharge estimates based solely on caprock width may differ significantly from estimates based on caprock thickness. Overall, our study suggests that sinuous ridges are not inverted channel fills, but rather reflect exhumation of a thick stratigraphic package of stacked channel belts and overbank deposits formed from depositional rivers over significant geologic time.

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confidence: 59%

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confidence: 70%

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Formation of sinuous ridges by inversion of river-channel belts in Utah, USA, with implications for Mars

Hayden

Lamb

Fischer

et al. 2019

Icarus

154

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“…The existence of water on Mars has long been controversial. Recent studies of topographic features, for example, the northern plains, sedimentary deposits, and valley networks [11][12][13] and the detection of subsurface ice, as well as various hydrous minerals in Lyot crater, suggest the existence of an ancient Martian ocean on the surface [14][15][16]. The convecting Martian mantle may be hydrated…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Phase Relations in MAFSH System up to 21 GPa: Implications for Water Cycles in Martian Interior

Inoue

2019

Minerals

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To elucidate the water cycles in iron-rich Mars, we investigated the phase relation of a water-undersaturated (2 wt.%) analog of Martian mantle in simplified MgO-Al 2 O 3 -FeO-SiO 2 -H 2 O (MAFSH) system between 15 and 21 GPa at 900-1500 • C using a multi-anvil apparatus. Results showed that phase E coexisting with wadsleyite or ringwoodite was at least stable at 15-16.5 GPa and below 1050 • C. Phase D coexisted with ringwoodite at pressures higher than 16.5 GPa and temperatures below 1100 • C. The transition pressure of the loop at the wadsleyite-ringwoodite boundary shifted towards lower pressure in an iron-rich system compared with a hydrous pyrolite model of the Earth. Some evidence indicates that water once existed on the Martian surface on ancient Mars. The water present in the hydrous crust might have been brought into the deep interior by the convecting mantle. Therefore, water might have been transported to the deep Martian interior by hydrous minerals, such as phase E and phase D, in cold subduction plates. Moreover, it might have been stored in wadsleyite or ringwoodite after those hydrous materials decomposed when the plates equilibrated thermally with the surrounding Martian mantle.when reacting with overlying hydrous crust, bringing water into the deep interior [17]. Therefore, similarly to an Earth-like planet, some hydrous minerals might exist in cold region of iron-rich Mars, and wadsleyite and ringwoodite might also hold a huge amount of water in the Martian interior, as it was argued for the present-day Earth.Several studies have identified phase relations in the MSH and MgO-Al 2 O 3 -SiO 2 -H 2 O (MASH) systems, with the observation of various hydrous minerals at P-T conditions related to the cold subduction slabs [3,4,6,7,18,19]. Nevertheless, few data are available for hydrous iron-bearing systems: data for iron-rich systems, such as Mars, are rarely reported [5]. A better understanding of the phase relations in MgO-Al 2 O 3 -FeO-SiO 2 -H 2 O (MAFSH) system might help to elucidate the geodynamic processes associated with the deepwater cycles of Mars. Therefore, we determined the phase relations in iron-rich MAFSH system between 15 GPa and 21 GPa to systematically ascertain the stability of DHMSs, and further estimate the possible water transportation into the Martian interior by subducting processes.

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“…Although suggestions for the nature of these changes have been based on flume experiments, numerical simulations, and field studies, the effect on sinuosity along the responding channel remains unclear. The river planform modifications serve as an indicator of fluvial response to tectonics, base-level fall, hydrology, and climate change on Earth, and on extraterrestrial drainage systems (Blum and Aslan, 2006;Cardenas et al, 2018). The Jordan River response to the Dead Sea level decline in recent decades provides a rare opportunity to study in detail a field-scale channel planform response to base-level decline.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sinuosity evolution along an incising channel: New insights from the Jordan River response to the Dead Sea level fall

Dente

Lensky

Morin

et al. 2018

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The geomorphic evolution of the Jordan River in recent decades indicates that interaction between incision and high‐magnitude floods controls sinuosity changes under increasing mouth gradients during base‐level fall. The evolution of the river was analyzed based on digital elevation models, remotely sensed imagery, hydrometric data, and a hydraulic model. The response varies along the river. Near the river mouth, where incision rate is high and a deep channel forms, overbank flooding is less likely. There, large floods exert high shear stress within the confined channel, increasing sinuosity. Upstream, near the migrating knickzone channel gradients also increase, incision is more moderate and floods continue to overtop the banks, favoring meander chute cutoffs. The resulting channel has a downstream well‐confined meandering segment and an upstream low‐sinuosity segment. These new insights regarding spatial differences along an incising channel can improve interpretations of the evolution of ancient planforms and floodplains that responded to base‐level decline. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Fluvial stratigraphy of valley fills at Aeolis Dorsa, Mars: Evidence for base-level fluctuations controlled by a downstream water body

Cited by 51 publications

References 76 publications

Formation of sinuous ridges by inversion of river-channel belts in Utah, USA, with implications for Mars

Formation of sinuous ridges by inversion of river-channel belts in Utah, USA, with implications for Mars

Phase Relations in MAFSH System up to 21 GPa: Implications for Water Cycles in Martian Interior

Sinuosity evolution along an incising channel: New insights from the Jordan River response to the Dead Sea level fall

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