The Kasei Valles, Mars: a unified record of episodic channel flows and ancient ocean levels

Duran, Sergio; Coulthard, Tom

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-75080-y

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Attempts to reconstruct discharge for large channels on Mars have commonly estimated flow depth by assuming the channels were filled to their brims with water (e.g., Baker, 2001; Burr, 2003; Burr et al., 2002; Komatsu & Baker, 1997). Topographic evidence indicates large knickpoints retreated through major channels on Mars (Baker, 1982; Baker & Kochel, 1979; Duran & Coulthard, 2020; Duran et al., 2019; Warner et al., 2010, 2013). Our analysis of Grand Coulee indicates the discharge prior to knickpoint passage was approximately six times lower than the discharge required to fill the present‐day canyon to the elevation of high‐water marks, which are located near the elevation of the canyon brim.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pleistocene Megaflood Discharge in Grand Coulee, Channeled Scabland, USA

Lehnigk

Larsen

2022

JGR Earth Surface

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Bedrock erosion and canyon formation during extreme floods have dramatically altered landscapes on Earth and Mars. Grand Coulee was carved by outburst floods from Pleistocene glacial Lake Missoula and is the largest canyon in the Channeled Scabland, a megaflood‐scoured landscape in the northwestern USA. Quantifying paleo‐discharge is required to understand how landscapes evolve in response to extreme events, but there are few constraints on the magnitude of the floods that incised Grand Coulee; hence, we used hydraulic modeling and geologic evidence to quantify paleo‐flood discharges during different phases of canyon incision. When upper Grand Coulee was incising by headward waterfall retreat, the paleo‐discharge was 2.6 × 106 m3 s−1, which produced shear stresses great enough to cause the waterfall to retreat via toppling of basalt columns. The largest possible flood through upper Grand Coulee, a Missoula flood which raised glacial Lake Columbia to a stage of 750 m, produced a modeled discharge of 7.6 × 106 m3 s−1. The discharges associated with waterfall retreat and drainage of glacial Lake Columbia are >80% and ∼50% lower, respectively, than the 14–17 × 106 m3 s−1 discharge predicted by assuming the present‐day topography was inundated to the elevation of high‐water marks. Due to bedrock incision, high‐water marks may overestimate paleo‐flow depth in canyons carved by floods, hence bedrock erosion should be considered when estimating paleo‐discharge in flood‐carved canyons. Our results indicate that outburst floods with discharges and flow depths much lower than those required to inundate high‐water marks are capable of carving deep canyons.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pleistocene Megaflood Discharge in Grand Coulee, Channeled Scabland, USA

Lehnigk

Larsen

2022

JGR Earth Surface

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“…Detailed studies in Kasei Valles imply that such an ocean rose in elevation (∼1,000 m) between ca. 3.6 and 3.2 Ga ( 10 ). Along this shoreline, candidate tsunami deposits have been identified at an age of 3 Ga ( 11 , 12 ) with at least two impact events.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Circumpolar ocean stability on Mars 3 Gy ago

Schmidt

Way

Costard

et al. 2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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What was the nature of the Late Hesperian climate, warm and wet or cold and dry? Formulated this way the question leads to an apparent paradox since both options seem implausible. A warm and wet climate would have produced extensive fluvial erosion but few valley networks have been observed at the age of the Late Hesperian. A too cold climate would have kept any northern ocean frozen most of the time. A moderate cold climate would have transferred the water from the ocean to the land in the form of snow and ice. But this would prevent tsunami formation, for which there is some evidence. Here, we provide insights from numerical climate simulations in agreement with surface geological features to demonstrate that the Martian climate could have been both cold and wet. Using an advanced general circulation model (GCM), we demonstrate that an ocean can be stable, even if the Martian mean surface temperature is lower than 0 °C. Rainfall is moderate near the shorelines and in the ocean. The southern plateau is mostly covered by ice with a mean temperature below 0 °C and a glacier return flow back to the ocean. This climate is achieved with a 1-bar CO2-dominated atmosphere with 10% H2. Under this scenario of 3 Ga, the geologic evidence of a shoreline and tsunami deposits along the ocean/land dichotomy are compatible with ice sheets and glacial valleys in the southern highlands.

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“…Geomorphological analyses of the Kasei Valles region indicate episodic flooding with at least five periods of channel flows during 3.7 to 2 Ga, evidencing an active hydrological cycle well into the Amazonian [250]. Features implying thermokarst lakes and ponds also dating from the late Amazonian have been observed in Utopia and Elysium Planitiae [251].…”

Section: Early Mars As Compared To Early Earthmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Given the smaller size and possibly shorter lifetime of one or more oceans on Mars [111,250,263], coupled with the lower level of volcanic activity [277] and apparent lack of tectonic plate activity on Mars [292], the inferred likelihood of an origin of life by the pathway of oceanic hydrothermal vents must be much lower than for Earth.…”

Section: Suboceanic Hydrothermal Proto-macrobiontsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Origin of Life on Mars: Suitability and Opportunities

Clark

Kolb

Steele

et al. 2021

Life

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Although the habitability of early Mars is now well established, its suitability for conditions favorable to an independent origin of life (OoL) has been less certain. With continued exploration, evidence has mounted for a widespread diversity of physical and chemical conditions on Mars that mimic those variously hypothesized as settings in which life first arose on Earth. Mars has also provided water, energy sources, CHNOPS elements, critical catalytic transition metal elements, as well as B, Mg, Ca, Na and K, all of which are elements associated with life as we know it. With its highly favorable sulfur abundance and land/ocean ratio, early wet Mars remains a prime candidate for its own OoL, in many respects superior to Earth. The relatively well-preserved ancient surface of planet Mars helps inform the range of possible analogous conditions during the now-obliterated history of early Earth. Continued exploration of Mars also contributes to the understanding of the opportunities for settings enabling an OoL on exoplanets. Favoring geochemical sediment samples for eventual return to Earth will enhance assessments of the likelihood of a Martian OoL.

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The Kasei Valles, Mars: a unified record of episodic channel flows and ancient ocean levels

Cited by 12 publications

References 38 publications

Pleistocene Megaflood Discharge in Grand Coulee, Channeled Scabland, USA

Pleistocene Megaflood Discharge in Grand Coulee, Channeled Scabland, USA

Circumpolar ocean stability on Mars 3 Gy ago

Origin of Life on Mars: Suitability and Opportunities

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