Plateaus and sinuous ridges as the fingerprints of lava flow inflation in the Eastern Tharsis Plains of Mars

Bleacher, J. E.; Orr, Tim R.; Wet, Andrew P. de; Zimbelman, J. R.; Hamilton, C. W.; Garry, W. B.; Crumpler, L. S.; Williams, D. A.

doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2017.03.025

Cited by 22 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 103 publications

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“…Many lava flows on Mars display a smooth, featureless texture that some believe represent sheet flows emplaced by high eruption rates and/or low viscosity lavas, although some of these flows might instead represent inflated pahoehoe flows [e.g., Hon et al, 1994;Bleacher et al, 2017]. In our study, we avoided entirely smooth lava flows due to an inability to distinguish…”

Section: Smooth Flowsvery High or Low ψ Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Lava Flow Eruption Conditions in the Tharsis Volcanic Province on Mars

2021

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The large thick lava flows in Tharsis are explained by basaltic and basaltic-andesite compositions without resorting to exotic compositions.-The observed lava flows likely required longer-lived eruptive conditions and larger active conduits than their terrestrial counterparts.-Seemingly high eruption rates for some solitary flows are reasonable extrapolations of terrestrial conditions with higher supply dimensions.

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Section: Smooth Flowsvery High or Low ψ Morphologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Lava Flow Eruption Conditions in the Tharsis Volcanic Province on Mars

2021

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“…This is supported by observations of curvilinear collapse pit chains along axial ridges of lava flows within the Tharsis Volcanic Province, where pit widths are usually more than 100 m and often a few hundreds of meters across (Bleacher et al, ; Bleacher et al, ; Crown et al, ; Cushing et al, ). Martian tube systems are also longer than their Earth counterparts, often reaching >100 km in length (Bleacher et al, ), and could be as long as 700 to +1,000 km (Keszthelyi, ) which corresponds to the longer travel distances of basalt lava flows expected on Mars due to eruption dynamics (Wilson & Head, ). While on first order, lower gravity would increase tube stability, observations have shown that the percent tube length that has collapsed on studied tubes on Mars is higher than what is observed on Earth (Sauro et al, 2018), though this could be because tubes on Earth are completely obliterated over shorter timescales than on Mars.…”

Section: Implications For Lava Tube Detection On the Moon Or Marsmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…As Martian gravity is intermediate (2/5 terrestrial g), stable tube sizes are likely also intermediate. This is supported by observations of curvilinear collapse pit chains along axial ridges of lava flows within the Tharsis Volcanic Province, where pit widths are usually more than 100 m and often a few hundreds of meters across (Bleacher et al, 2011;Bleacher et al, 2017;Crown et al, 2019;Cushing et al, 2007). Martian tube systems are also longer than their Earth counterparts, often reaching >100 km in length (Bleacher et al, 2017),…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Resolution of Lava Tubes With Ground Penetrating Radar: The TubeX Project

et al. 2020

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Remote sensing surveys of the Moon and Mars show evidence of lava tubes, which are potential safe havens for human crews and their equipment. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) can be used to map tubes because the void/rock interface at tube ceilings and floors strongly reflects radar pulses. We have tested the capacity of GPR to sense lava tube geometry at Lava Beds National Monument in California, USA. GPR and detailed light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data are presented for two tubes: Skull Cave, with a few meters of overburden, diameter~10-20 m, and a rubbly floor; and Valentine Cave, with similarly thin overburden, diameter~1-3 m, and a flatter smoother floor. On both caves GPR clearly resolves the ceiling and permits good estimates of the cave width as validated with LiDAR data. Where GPR fails, the primary cause is inferred to be strong out-of-plane effects due to complex 3-D geometries. Recovery of the floor position requires migrating the GPR data with a 2-D velocity model, as signal velocity is faster in void space. We find that floor position is recoverable in caves whose voids are taller than the radar wavelength (~3 m in this study). Forward modeling assuming planetary parameters suggests that GPR should be similarly successful on the Moon or Mars.

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“…Several interpretations have been proposed for sinuous ridges on Mars, including lava tubes, eskers, inverted channels, and inverted channel belt [Bernhardt et al, 2013;Bernhardt et al, 2019;Bleacher et al, 2017;Davis et al, 2019;Gallagher and Balme, 2015;Guidat et al, 2015;Hayden et al, 2019;Lefort et al, 2012;Newsom et al, 2010;Pain et al, 2007;Ramsdale et al, 2015;Williams et al, 2013;Zealey, 2009;Zhao et al, 2017]. Lava tubes are mostly associated with volcanic activities and lava flows.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%