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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Index Terms

  • Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Erosion and weathering
  • Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Hydrology and fluvial processes
  • Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Mars

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 32, L16203, 4 PP., 2005
doi:10.1029/2005GL023415

Interior channels in Martian valleys: Constraints on fluvial erosion by measurements of the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera

R. Jaumann

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

D. Reiss

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

S. Frei

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

G. Neukum

Institute for Geosciences, Freie Universitaet, Berlin, Germany

F. Scholten

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

K. Gwinner

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

T. Roatsch

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

K.-D. Matz

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

V. Mertens

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

E. Hauber

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

H. Hoffmann

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

U. Köhler

Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany

J. W. Head

Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

H. Hiesinger

Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

M. H. Carr

U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, USA

In High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) images of the Mars Express Mission a 130 km long interior channel is identified within a 400 km long valley network system located in the Lybia Montes. Ages of the valley floor and the surroundings as derived from crater counts define a period of ∼350 Myrs during which the valley might have been formed. Based on HRSC stereo measurements the discharge of the interior channel is estimated at ∼4800 m3/s, corresponding to a runoff production rate of ∼1 cm/day. Mass balances indicate erosion rates of a few cm/year implying the erosion activity in the valley to a few thousand years for continuous flow, or one or more orders of magnitude longer time spans for more intermittent flows. Therefore, during the Hesperian, relatively brief but recurring episodes of erosion intervals are more likely than sustained flow.

Received 10 May 2005; accepted 29 June 2005; published 16 August 2005.

Citation: Jaumann, R., et al. (2005), Interior channels in Martian valleys: Constraints on fluvial erosion by measurements of the Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L16203, doi:10.1029/2005GL023415.

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