Generic identification and classification of morphostructures in the Noachis-Sabaea region, southern highlands of Mars

Abstract

The Noachis-Sabaea region in the southern highlands preserves some of the oldest Martian crust. It records deformation by both endogenic and exogenic processes. This deformation includes giant impacts and their impact stresses, which could have resulted in both the reactivation and modification of pre-impact tectonic structures, in addition to impactgenerated tectonic structures. There are also widespread extensional and compressional tectonic structures, which were formed due to endogenic processes. We have produced the first detailed morphostructural map of the Noachis-Sabaea region, which details the characteristics and spatial arrangements of structures in the region, forms the basis for making inferences about Noachian-Hesperian crustal activity, and provides information for further studies regarding the reconstruction of the evolutional history of the region. ARTICLE HISTORY

Geological Evidence of Planet‐Wide Groundwater System on Mars

“…Deep basins are, in particular, the most appropriate candidates to investigate the geological history because, due to eolian erosion, the sedimentary record in shallower basins is often undetectable. Furthermore, in the case of a one‐plate planet such as Mars (Banerdt et al, ; Breuer & Spohn, ), impact craters are among the few natural phenomena that are able to deform the surface (Ruj et al, ) and act as sedimentary basins with considerable and well‐developed steep slopes (see Table for crater walls' slopes). Erosional processes occurred on the basin walls creating sediments that accumulated within the basin, which acted as a terminal sink.…”

Protracted Hydrogeological Activity in Arabia Terra, Mars: Evidence From the Structure and Mineralogy of the Layered Deposits of Becquerel Crater

“…Our favored idea is that the position of the ELD Mound is the product of the intersection of a radial fracture system (related to the interior crater impact event) and the presence of a pre‐existing regional fault and its damaged zone (Caine et al., 1996; Ruj et al., 2017), which creates the required permeability.…”

“…Our favored idea is that the position of the ELD Mound is the product of the intersection of a radial fracture system (related to the interior crater impact event) and the presence of a pre-existing regional fault and its damaged zone (Caine et al, 1996;Ruj et al, 2017), which creates the required permeability. After a detailed work on the presence of hydrated minerals in Becquerel, Koeppel et al (2022) concluded on the basis of numerical modeling of THEMIS images of ELDs (referred to in the article as SBLDs) that the contribution of water (if any) was minimal.…”

Geomorphology of the southwest Sinus Sabaeus region: evidence for an ancient hydrological cycle on Mars

“…Previous studies provide global and regional maps of Sinus Sabaeus (Figure 2). Two geologic maps with a scale of 1:5,000,000 had covered the area before: Moore (1980) and Ruj et al (2017), the latter having a more morphostructural focus. Our study area has been included in two global geologic maps of Mars: Greeley and Guest (1987), with a scale of 1:15,000,000, and Tanaka et al (2014), with a scale of 1:20,000,000.…”

“…A) The Geologic map of the Sinus Sabaeus Quadrangle of Mars(Moore, 1980), that defines 8 units in our area of interest: 'material of youngest craters' (c5),' material of young craters' (c4), 'material of intermediate age craters' (c3), 'material of old craters' (c2), 'material of oldest craters' (c1), 'cratered plains material' (pc), 'plains material' (p), 'hilly, channeled and cratered material' (hcc); and 3 structures: 'crater rim crests', 'buried crater rim crests', and 'small channels'. B) The Generic identification and classification of morphostructures in the Noachis-Sabaea region, southern highlands of Mars(Ruj et al, 2017), which includes 3 different units: 'early Noachian highlands' (eNh), 'middle Noachian highlands' (mNh) and 'early Hesperian highland unit' (eHh); and some structures: 4 types of impact craters according to their degradation state, going from 'type 3' (the youngest) to 'ghost crater' (the oldest), 'normal faults', 'wrinkle ridges' and 'lobate scarps'. C) The Geologic map of the eastern equatorial region of Mars(Greeley & Guest, 1987), with 3 structures: 'crater rim and ejecta material' (c), 'smooth floor material' (s) and 'wrinkle ridges' (Hr); and 4 units: 'mottled smooth plains' (Hplm), 'ridged' (Nplr), 'etched' (Nple), and 'dissected' (Npld).…”