Recurring slope lineae in equatorial regions of Mars

McEwen, A. S.; Dundas, C. M.; Mattson, S.; Toigo, A. D.; Ojha, L.; Wray, J. J.; Chojnacki, M.; Byrne, Shane; Murchie, S. L.; Thomas, N.

doi:10.1038/ngeo2014

Cited by 265 publications

(198 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…However the exact mechanism that recharges the RSL, which may vary across the surface, remains poorly understood. At least three possible scenarios exist: feeding from shallow briny aquifers (McEwen et al, 2011;Chevrier and Rivera-Valentin, 2012); melting of shallow ice during warm seasons (McEwen et al, 2014), which provides good temporal agreement with RSL formation but may not be able to provide suffient water over long periods Grimm et al, 2014); and absorption of atmospheric water vapour by deliquescent salts. The first two of these hypotheses require some subsurface store of water but the third does not.…”

Section: Recurring Slope Lineaementioning

confidence: 99%

Equatorial locations of water on Mars: Improved resolution maps based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data

Wilson

Eke

Massey

et al. 2018

Icarus

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We present a map of the near subsurface hydrogen distribution on Mars, based on epithermal neutron data from the Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer. The map's spatial resolution is approximately improved two-fold via a new form of the pixon image reconstruction technique. We discover hydrogen-rich mineralogy far from the poles, including ∼10 wt. % water equivalent hydrogen (WEH) on the flanks of the Tharsis Montes and >40 wt. % WEH at the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF). The high WEH abundance at the MFF implies the presence of bulk water ice. This supports the hypothesis of recent periods of high orbital obliquity during which water ice was stable on the surface. We find the young undivided channel system material in southern Elysium Planitia to be distinct from its surroundings and exceptionally dry; there is no evidence of hydration at the location in Elysium Planitia suggested to contain a buried water ice sea. Finally, we find that the sites of recurring slope lineae (RSL) do not correlate with subsurface hydration. This implies that RSL are not fed by large, near-subsurface aquifers, but are instead the result of either small (<120 km diameter) aquifers, deliquescence of perchlorate and chlorate salts or dry, granular flows.

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Section: Recurring Slope Lineaementioning

confidence: 99%

Equatorial locations of water on Mars: Improved resolution maps based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data

Wilson

Eke

Massey

et al. 2018

Icarus

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“…The occurrence of RSL in Mars is stronger in craters' slopes receiving more direct sunrays, as previously mentioned [2] [3]. Open Journal of Modern Hydrology Recent discoveries indicate that RSL contain significant amounts of hydrated salts [2] [31] [32], suggesting that such dark pathways might be the reminding of a frozen aquifer [5].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Additionally, RSL occur mostly during summer months, being higher in number in north-facing slopes of craters located in southern latitudes and in south-facing slopes on craters from the northern hemisphere. Also, equatorial craters have a relatively homogeneous distribution of RSL along their circumference, or slopes, suggesting all together that they are correlated with sun exposure [3]. In other words, RSL have a tendency to occur on the most unstable slopes of Martian craters, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Weathering Processes on Martian Craters: Implications on Recurring Slope Lineae and the Location of Liquid Water

García‐Chevesich¹,

Bendek²,

Pizarro³

et al. 2017

OJMH

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Recent attention has been put into recurring slope lineae (RSL), after the discovery that water is present in them. It is assumed that RSL are due to flowing water. However, even though that might be the case, the general characteristics of RSL as well as their seasonal and spatial distribution in Mars, and their occurrence within craters, suggest that RSL correspond to the weathering of frozen aquifers, which coincides with slope stability processes occurring in impact craters and scree slopes from Earth. In this study, we associated RSL with similar weathering processes occurring on impact craters and hydrogeological processes occurring on Earth (including ice, water, and wind erosion and natural aquifer recharge processes). We were able to create a conceptual model on how RSL develop, why are they found mostly in mid latitudes around craters, why are they present in more frequency in one side of crates in high latitudes, and why are there more RSL in the Martian southern hemisphere. Considering the whole hydrogeological processes occurring in craters that experience RSL, we were able to predict where large quantities of liquid water are most likely to be present in the red planet.

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“…More recently, enigmatic streaks have been observed to appear and lengthen on sloping terrains during warmer seasons in the mid-latitudes and equatorial regions. The streaks are consistent with the seasonal flow of briny water 5 , but how liquid brines could be stable at such low latitudes has remained an open question. An analysis of environmental data from the Curiosity rover at equatorial Gale crater, presented on page 357, shows that the answer again is in the dynamic nature of Mars: at night temperature and humidity conditions are sufficient to form brines in the subsurface.…”

mentioning

confidence: 74%

Planetary rite of spring

2015

Nature Geosci

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Recurring slope lineae in equatorial regions of Mars

Cited by 265 publications

References 30 publications

Equatorial locations of water on Mars: Improved resolution maps based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data

Equatorial locations of water on Mars: Improved resolution maps based on Mars Odyssey Neutron Spectrometer data

Weathering Processes on Martian Craters: Implications on Recurring Slope Lineae and the Location of Liquid Water

Planetary rite of spring

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