Possible evaporite karst in an interior layered deposit in Juventae Chasma, Mars

Abstract

Abstract:This paper describes karst landforms observed in an interior layered deposit (ILD) located within Juventae Chasma a trough of the Valles Marineris, a rift system that belongs to the Tharsis region of Mars. The ILD investigated is characterized by spectral signatures of kieserite, an evaporitic mineral present on Earth. A morphologic and morphometric survey of the ILD surface performed on data of the Orbiter High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) highlighted the presence of depressions of various shapes and sizes. These landforms interpreted as dolines resemble similar karst landforms on Earth and in other regions of Mars. The observed karst landforms suggest the presence of liquid water, probably due to ice melting, in the Amazonian age.Mars, interior layered deposits, karst, climate change

Closed depressions in Kotido crater, Arabia Terra, Mars. Possible evidence of evaporite dissolution-induced subsidence

“…The authors suggested that the depressions record a single wet period, probably related to ice melting in the late Amazonian. Similar landforms have been documented in Meridiani Planum (Baioni, 2019), Tyrrhena Terra (Baioni and Tramontana, 2016), Coprates Chasma (Baioni et al, 2011), Tithonium Chasma (Baioni, 2013) and Juventae Chasma (Baioni and Tramontana, 2017). Large closed depressions of the order of kilometres or tens of kilometres long have been also attributed to dissolution-induced Journal Pre-proof J o u r n a l P r e -p r o o f subsidence.…”

Groundwater Control and Process Variability on the Equatorial Layered Deposits of Kotido Crater, Mars

“…Many sites in the equatorial regions of Mars (roughly within 30°north and south) host light-toned layered deposits, including Valles Marineris and the chaotic terrains (Al-Samir et al, 2017;Baioni & Tramontana, 2017;Chapman & Tanaka, 2001;Davis et al, 2018;Flahaut, Quantin, Allemand, Thomas, & Le Deit, 2010;Fueten et al, 2008Fueten et al, , 2014Fueten et al, , 2017Glotch & Rogers, 2007;Le Deit et al, 2008;Lucchitta et al, 1992;Murchie et al, 2009;Noel et al, 2015;Quantin et al, 2005;Weitz et al, 2012Weitz et al, , 2008, interior crater deposits (Allen & Oehler, 2008; Kite et al, 2013;Le Deit et al, 2013;Lewis et al, 2008;Murana, 2018;Pondrelli et al, 2015Pondrelli et al, , 2011Zabrusky et al, 2012), the northern rim of Hellas basin (Ansan et al, 2011;Day et al, 2016;Moore & Wilhelms, 2007;Salese et al, 2016;Wilson et al, 2007), and the intercrater plains of Arabia Terra and Meridiani Planum (Grotzinger et al, 2005;McLennan et al, 2005;Pondrelli et al, 2015). Dismissing the fluvio-deltaic deposits, they are grouped under the informal name of Equatorial Layered Deposits (ELDs; Hynek et al, 2002;Okubo et al, 2009) and are included in the Hesperian and Noachian highland undivided unit of the most recent global geological map (Tanaka et al, 2014).…”

Resource potential and planning for exploration of the Hebrus Valles, Mars

“…The planimetric attributes [area (A), perimeter (Pe), elongation index (EI) and circularity index (CI)] and topographic attributes [slope (S • ) and depth (m)] of Sinkholes 1-8 have been estimated and tabulated in Table 1. The EI is defined as the ratio between the longest axis (L) and the width perpendicular to it (Wmax), and the CI is the ratio between the measured depression area and the area of a circle with the same perimeter (Baioni & Tramontana 2017;Telbisz et al 2016). The CI is determined using the formula CI = 4π(A)/Pe 2 .…”