The origin of polygonal troughs on the Northern Plains of Mars

Pechmann, James C.

doi:10.1016/0019-1035(80)90071-8

Cited by 105 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The troughs, like the wrinkle ridges, are both basin concentric and basin radial, forming giant polygons (Strom et al, 1975;Dzurisin, 1978;Melosh and Dzurisin, 1978) as much as 40-50 km across (Watters et al, 2005). The distribution of orientations indicates that troughs are predominantly basin concentric (Pechmann, 1980). Although polygonal troughs remarkably similar in morphology and scale to those in Caloris have been found in the northern lowlands of Mars (Carr et al, 1976;Pechmann, 1980;McGill, 1986) and in volcanic plains on Venus (Johnson and Sandwell, 1992;Smrekar et al, 2002), no analogous landforms occur in the floor materials of impact basins on the Moon or Mars.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Extensional troughs in the Caloris Basin of Mercury: Evidence of lateral crustal flow

Watters

Nimmo

Robinson

2005

Geol

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 73%

Extensional troughs in the Caloris Basin of Mercury: Evidence of lateral crustal flow

Watters

Nimmo

Robinson

2005

Geol

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“…These features were first observed on Mariner 9 images (Mutch et al, 1976) and have since been identified in extensive regions of Acidalia, Elysium, and Utopia Planitiae as well as in Vastitas Borealis (Pechmann, 1980). These landforms are delineated by flat-floored troughs 200-800 m wide and average trough spacing on the order of 5-10 km (Pechmann, 1980).…”

Section: Martian Landforms Indicative Of a Fluid-rich Substratummentioning

confidence: 89%

“…21). Giant polygons have been identified on Elysium and Utopia Planitiae (Pechmann, 1980). Skinner and Tanaka (2007) interpreted mounds and cones in Utopia as resulting from mud volcanism.…”

Section: Paleoclimatic Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of volcanic and glacial activity in Chryse and Acidalia Planitiae, Mars

Martínez-Alonso

Mellon

Banks

et al. 2011

Icarus

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“…Such large grabens are characterized by multiply faulted borders and floors (e.g., Plescia and Saunders, 1982;Dohm and Tanaka, 1999;Wilkins et al, 2002;Wilkins and Schultz, 2003) and resemble complex terrestrial rift systems (Schultz, 1991(Schultz, , 1995Banerdt et al, 1992;Hauber and Kronberg, 2005). Other extensional structures include the Valles Marineris troughs (e.g., Blasius et ai., 1977;Lucchitta et ai., 1992;Mege and Masson, 1996;Schultz, 1991Schultz, , 1995Schultz, , 1998Schultz, , 2000bWilkins and Schultz, 2003), structurally controlled sapping channels (e.g., Davis et ai., 1995), and troughs of polygonal patterned ground (e.g., Pechmann, 1980;McGill, 1986;McGill and Hills, 1992;Buczkowski and McGill, 2002) . Wrinkle ridges occur across the Martian surface (e.g., Chicarro et al, 1985;Watters and Maxwell, 1986;Watters, 1988;Schultz, 2000a;Goudy et ai., 2005) and formed in association with impact basins, as on the Moon, and voIcanotectonic provinces such as Tharsis, Thaumasia, and Elysium.…”

Section: Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planetary structural mapping

Tanaka¹,

Anderson²,

Dohm³

et al. 2009

Planetary Tectonics

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SummaryAs on Earth, other solid-surfaced planetary bodies in the solar system display landforms produced by tectonic activity, such as faults, folds, and fractures. These features are resolved in spacecraft observations directly or with techniques that extract topographic information from a diverse suite of data types, including radar 351 352Planetary Tectonics backscatter and altimetry, visible and near-infrared images, and laser altimetry. Each dataset and technique has its strengths and limitations that govern how to optimally utilize and properly interpret the data and what sizes and aspects of features can be recognized. The ability to identify, discriminate, and map tectonic features also depends on the uniqueness of their form, on the morphologic complexity of the terrain in which the structures occur, and on obscuration of the features by erosion and burial processes. Geologic mapping of tectonic structures is valuable for interpretation of the surface strains and of the geologic histories associated with their formation, leading to possible clues about: (1) the types or sources of stress related to their formation, (2) the mechanical properties of the materials in which they formed, and (3) the evolution of the body's surface and interior where timing relationships can be determined. Formal mapping of tectonic structures has been performed and/or is in progress for Earth's Moon, the planets Mars, Mercury, and Venus, and the satellites of Jupiter (Callisto, Ganymede, Europa, and fo). Structures have also been recognized on some of the Saturnian (Titan, Dione, Rhea, Tethys, Iapetus, and Enceladus) and Uranian satellites (Miranda and Ariel) and Neptune's large moon, Triton. Of these, only Earth's Moon has provided rock samples that have been dated using radiometric techniques, thus constraining, in the best scenarios, the age of formation of specific structures. However, most of these bodies have a resurfacing history useful for relative structural history, which might be constrained by geologic mapping and, in some cases, by crater-density data. Because of the range in rheologic character represented by planetary crustal materials and in some cases exotic stress mechanisms acting upon them, planetary structures can include forms, relationships, and developmental patterns that are rare or non-existent on Earth.

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The origin of polygonal troughs on the Northern Plains of Mars

Cited by 105 publications

References 28 publications

Extensional troughs in the Caloris Basin of Mercury: Evidence of lateral crustal flow

Extensional troughs in the Caloris Basin of Mercury: Evidence of lateral crustal flow

Evidence of volcanic and glacial activity in Chryse and Acidalia Planitiae, Mars

Planetary structural mapping

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