Insights into the subsurface structure of wrinkle ridges on Mars

Karagoz, Oguzcan; Kenkmann, T.; Wulf, G.

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117759

Cited by 6 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…In map view, individual wrinkle ridges display consistent eastward convex shapes (Fig. 5A), which implies eastward transport direction of the landform system as it represents a thinskinned fold-and-thrust belt (e.g., Allemand and Thomas, 1995;Karagoz et al, 2022aKaragoz et al, , 2022bcf. Mueller and Golombek, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…One would also expect that thermal contraction due to magma cooling below the Tharsis rise would have generated a crustal-scale stress field leading to the formation of compressional structures with horizontal wavelengths similar to the thickness of the Tharsis crust on the order of 10s of kilometers. This expectation is inconsistent with the highly localized deformation expressed by the wrinkle ridges bounded by flat inter-ridge plains (see Karagoz et al, 2022a, Karagoz et al, 2022b. Finally, heterogeneous cooling is expected due to multiple intrusions in different times and at different locations below the Tharsis rise, which would require superposition of compressional structures with different orientations that crosscut one another.…”

Section: Formation Mechanisms Of Wrinkle Ridgesmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Their interpretation is supported by the similar morphology of martian wrinkle ridges with a suite of thrust-related folds on Earth. Several researchers show that scarps bounding wrinkle ridges appear to offset crater rims and crater floors at a few localities in the Tharsis region (Allemand and Thomas, 1995;Karagoz et al, 2022a, Karagoz et al, 2022b. Cole and Andrews-Hanna (2017) interpret a ridgeforming landform cutting obliquely across beddings exposed on a steep trough wall of Valles Marineris as a thrust zone, because it can be projected below a nearby wrinkle ridge.…”

Section: Regional Setting Of the Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Formation and modification of wrinkle ridges in the central Tharsis region of Mars as constrained by detailed geomorphological mapping and landform analysis

Yin¹,

Wang²

2022

Preprint

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Wrinkle ridges are common landforms documented on all rocky planets and the Moon in the inner solar system. Despite the long research history, their formation mechanisms remain debated. A key unresolved issue is whether the wrinkle-ridge formation is related to igneous processes. This is because wrinkle ridges are mostly associated in space and possible with time to the occurrence of flood-basalt volcanism in all cases on the rocky bodies in the inner solar system.To address this issue, we conducted geomorphological mapping, topographic-data analysis, and detailed landform analysis of satellite images at the resolution of 25 cm/pixel to 6 m/pixel in the central Tharsis region of Mars. The main result of this work is in the form of (1) a regional geomorphological map at the resolution 6 m/pixel and (2) a local geomorphological map at the resolution of 50 cm/pixel. Our work suggests the following sequence of events in the study area:(1) the creation of a plateau region along the eastern margin of the Tharsis rise by horizontal shortening, (2) the coeval formation of a western volcanic plateau as the source of east-flowing lavas terminating in the east against the tectonically generated eastern plateau, (3) wrinkle-ridge formation by folding in recently emplaced warm and ductile volcanic-lava piles, (4) emplacement of an ice sheet over the Tharsis region that produced extensive boulder-bearing materials, striated surfaces, and boulder-bearing dendritic ridge networks possibly representing glacial eskers, and(5) deposition of locally highly concentrated glacial flours during deglaciation that resulted in the formation of mantled terrain. Our work supports the early suggestion that the Tharsis wrinkle ridges were created by horizontal shortening induced by crustal-scale tectonic processes. In detail, however, the occurrence of flow-front-like margins of many mapped wrinkle ridges suggests ductile folding, which we attribute to the thermally weakened lava piles emplaced during or immediately before the folding event. Post-folding glacial modification means that the present 3 wrinkle-ridge morphologies may differ significantly from the true fold shapes, which prevent their utilities for inverting subsurface thrust geometries. 5 existing fractures formed by earlier impact and tectonic processes. Strom (1972) further suggests that the secondary crenulated ridges are extrusive volcanic landforms emerging from tensile fractures along the ridge crests (also see Guest, 1971).Based on detailed mapping and satellite-image analysis, Bryan (1973) shows that his mapped lunar wrinkle ridges consistently cut across lava-flow-like landforms. This observation rules out the laccolith-dome model of Strom (1972) as a general cause of lunar wrinkle-ridge formation. Mapping by Howard and Muehlberger (1973) simultaneously reaches the same conclusion. The close association of the mapped lunar wrinkle ridges with ridge-bounding scarps leads Howard and Muehlberger (1973) to interpret the ridges and ridge-bounding scarps as folds and thrusts ab...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Formation Mechanisms Of Wrinkle Ridgesmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Regional Setting Of the Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Formation and modification of wrinkle ridges in the central Tharsis region of Mars as constrained by detailed geomorphological mapping and landform analysis

Yin¹,

Wang²

2022

Preprint

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“…The objective of this study is a rigorous quantitative analysis of wrinkle ridges to narrow down the plume and stress history of Tharsis and gain further insight into the evolution of the Tharsis volcanic province. Building upon our previous morphometric analysis of wrinkle ridges (Karagoz et al, 2022a(Karagoz et al, , 2022b we investigate all circum-Tharsis wrinkle ridges (34,741 wrinkle ridge segments of 2 km intervals, with a total length of 77,294 km). We apply a method known as the "concentric deviation approach" (Poelchau & Kenkmann, 2008) and combine it with a novel fitting procedure to find best-fit stress centers based on wrinkle ridge analysis.…”

Section: Wrinkle Ridges Around Tharsismentioning

confidence: 99%

Unraveling the Tectonic History of the Tharsis Rise on Mars: Plume Migration and Critical Taper Dome

Karagoz,

Kenkmann,

Hergarten

2024

JGR Planets

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Wrinkle ridges are widespread tectonic landforms that serve as paleo‐strain and paleo‐stress indicators of the compressional history and thermal evolution of Mars. To reconstruct the center of the Tharsis rise and its migration with time, we mapped wrinkle ridges in the periphery of the dome and analyzed 34,741 wrinkle ridge segments with a total length of 77,294 km. We determined the deviation of each wrinkle ridge segment from a concentric strike direction for systematically changing centers. A fitting procedure indicates that all wrinkle ridge segments can be allocated with good precision to five different stress centers (C1‐5) within the Tharsis rise: the southern edge of the Alba Mons caldera (C1), Ceraunius Fossae (C2), between Ulysses Patera and Pavonis Chasma (C3), Phoenicis Lacus (C4), and Claritas Rupes (C5). We performed a morphometric analysis of each wrinkle ridge and calculated the amount of shortening and depth of detachment, making use of methods for constructing balanced cross‐sections. The amount of horizontal shortening varies from 1.5 to 3.8 km and the range of the detachment depth was found to be between 2.9 and 8.8 km, with significant variance forming an acute wedge of 1.2°–2.2°. Based on the critical taper theory, we inferred a very low basal friction coefficient ranging from 0.077 to 0.093 across the detachments for the five centers (C1–C5). Our findings suggest that these detachments are either localized along salt or clay layers or occur where liquid water is dominant below an impermeable permafrost layer.

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“…Therefore, there are certainly tectonic discontinuities in the areas of possible sedimentary volcanism. However, they are mostly indicative of compressional stress, and the dip angle of the thrust faults associated with wrinkle ridges is relatively shallow (average ~30°, according to many models; e.g., Karagoz et al, 2022). Although there may be a large range of possible dips (see discussion by Andrews-Hanna, 2020), it is not clear whether these faults may have acted as preferential pathways for liquefied sediment.…”

Section: Addressing the Key Questions About Sedimentary Volcanism For...mentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of sedimentary volcanism on Mars

Brož

Oehler

Mazzini

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Abstract. Extensive fields of sub-kilometre-to kilometre-scale mounds, cones, domes, shields, and flow-like edifices cover large parts of the martian lowlands. These features have been compared to structures on Earth produced by sedimentary volcanism – a process that involves subsurface sediment/fluid mobilization and commonly releases methane to the atmosphere. It was proposed that such process might help to explain the presence of methane in martian atmosphere and also may have additionally produced habitable, subsurface settings of potential astrobiological relevance. However, it remains unclear whether sedimentary volcanism on Earth and Mars share genetic similarities; hence whether methane, or other gases were released on Mars during this process. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge about mud-volcano-like structures on Mars, address the critical aspects of this process, identify key open questions, and point to areas where further research is needed to understand this phenomenon and its importance for the red planet’s geological evolution. We show here that after several decades of exploration, the amount of evidence supporting a martian sedimentary volcanism scenario has increased significantly, but as critical ground truth is still lacking, alternative explanations cannot always be ruled out. We also highlight that the lower gravity and temperatures on Mars compared to Earth control the dynamics of clastic eruptions as well as surface emplacement and resulting morphologies of erupted material. This implies that shapes and triggering mechanisms of mud-volcano-like structures may be different from those observed on Earth. Therefore comparative studies should be done with caution. To provide a better understanding of the significance of these abundant features on Mars, we argue for follow-up studies targeting putative sedimentary volcanic features identified on the planet’s surface and, if possible, for in situ investigations by landed missions such as that currently in progress by the Zhurong rover.

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Insights into the subsurface structure of wrinkle ridges on Mars

Cited by 6 publications

References 33 publications

Formation and modification of wrinkle ridges in the central Tharsis region of Mars as constrained by detailed geomorphological mapping and landform analysis

Formation and modification of wrinkle ridges in the central Tharsis region of Mars as constrained by detailed geomorphological mapping and landform analysis

Unraveling the Tectonic History of the Tharsis Rise on Mars: Plume Migration and Critical Taper Dome

An overview of sedimentary volcanism on Mars

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