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AGU: Journal of Geophysical Research, Planets

 

Keywords

  • delta-like deposit
  • Mars
  • paleolacustrine environments

Index Terms

  • Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Hydrology and fluvial processes
  • Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Erosion and weathering
  • Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Origin and evolution
  • Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets: Impact phenomena, cratering
  • Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects: Mars
Abstract
Cited By (5)
 

Abstract

Geological evolution of the Tyras Vallis paleolacustrine system, Mars

Gaetano Di Achille

International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Universita' D'Annunzio, Pescara, Italy

Lucia Marinangeli

International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Universita' D'Annunzio, Pescara, Italy

Gian Gabriele Ori

International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Universita' D'Annunzio, Pescara, Italy

Ernst Hauber

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

Klaus Gwinner

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

Dennis Reiss

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

Gerhard Neukum

Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

Using the new High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) data and other Martian data sets, we reconstructed the hydrological history of an unnamed complex crater in the Xanthe Terra region. The crater hosted a lacustrine basin fed by a dense and centripetal drainage system, developed along its inner rim, and by the Tyras Vallis channel. Where the Tyras Vallis opens into the crater, a prominent delta-like feature is visible, characterized by a central terrace and two small longitudinal scarps. This deposit has been used as sedimentary recorder of the crater lake history and allowed assessment of the overall hydrological evolution. Two major stands of the water level have been inferred at 700 and 550 m above the crater floor, based on the correlation between the morphology and topography of the fan and the crater floor deposits. Our reconstruction reveals a complex sedimentary evolution of the fan, which underwent deltaic and alluvial sedimentation, as a result of the different lake water levels and Tyras Vallis supplies. A dominant erosional evolution of the fan-delta was determined by the interaction between the fluvial characteristics and basin wave regime. Wave height analysis and morphological comparison with terrestrial analogues support this hypothesis. The lacustrine activity could be chronologically placed between the Late Noachian and the Hesperian. The climatic conditions could have allowed the recharge of the regional groundwater system by precipitation and episodic fluvial activity. However, also heating effects of cratering could have affected the system, rejuvenating or accelerating the recharge of the local aquifer.

Received 19 August 2005; accepted 4 January 2006; published 8 April 2006.

Citation: Di Achille, G., L. Marinangeli, G. G. Ori, E. Hauber, K. Gwinner, D. Reiss, and G. Neukum (2006), Geological evolution of the Tyras Vallis paleolacustrine system, Mars, J. Geophys. Res., 111, E04003, doi:10.1029/2005JE002561.

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