All posts tagged Lacustrine

The effect of gravity on river deltas

Post contributed by Dr Lisanne Braat, European Space Agency (ESA)

Deltas form when a river flows into a standing body of water. When the flow decelerates the sediment carried by the river settles and forms the delta. On Earth we have numerous active deltas where rivers meet lakes, seas, and oceans. Examples of Earth’s deltas can be seen on the left side of Image 1. On Mars, we observe many remnants of ancient deltas that are no longer active (shown on the right side of Image 1), such as the delta in Jezero Crater where the Perseverance rover currently explores. Preserved sediment deposits in these Martian deltas provide valuable insights into past processes on the planet’s surface and the presence of water. To better understand these landforms on Mars, we rely on knowledge gained from active delta systems on Earth. However, is it fair to do so when the gravity on Mars is much lower? How does gravity affect sediment transport and delta morphology?

Image 1: Animated GIF comparing Deltas on Earth and Mars. Left, examples of active deltas on Earth (source: Landsat). Right, examples of preserved ancient deltas on Mars (source: JMARS composite of CTX Global Mosaic, Murray Lab, and HRSC MOLA Blended DEM 200m v2).

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by fegbutcher on July 1, 2023  •  Permalink
Posted in Earth Analogue, Mars
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Posted by fegbutcher on July 1, 2023

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2023/07/01/the-effect-of-gravity-on-river-deltas/

Sedimentology and Hydrology of an Amazonian paleo-fluivo-lacustrine systems on Mars (Moa Valles)

Post contributed by Francesco Salese from IRSPS/Dipartimento INGEO, Università D’Annunzio, Pescara, Italy.

Mars, is one of the planetary bodies where water flowed and where it may transiently flow today under certain conditions. Many martian paleodrainage systems and well-preserved fluvial and lacustrine deposits have been recognized and studied in the last two decades (see further reading). Widespread dendritic valley networks and the presence of extensive fluvial features on ancient martian terrains suggest that a relatively “warm and wet” climate was prevalent early in the planet’s history (about 3.7 Ga). This is in stark contrast with the hyper-arid, extremely cold climate that is thought to have persisted from 3 Ga until the present (Amazonian Era). The subject of this post is Moa Valles [Salese et al., 2016], which is a 2 billion year old paleodrainage system (Figure 1) that is nearly 300 km long and is carved into ancient highland terrains of Tempe Terra in the northern hemisphere of Mars. Understanding the origin and evolution of this type of complex and interconnected paleo-fluvio-lacustrine system is critical for understanding the early martian climate.

Figure2

Figure 1: The upper panel shows the THEMIS-VIS daytime mosaic of Moa Vallis system.The lower panel is a line drawing showing the channel system in blue lines, red dotted lines represent wrinkle ridges, the drainage basin is delimited in grey, and fan-shaped and deltaic deposits in orange. The total mapped length of the channel as shown here is ~325 km, and the flow direction is towards the east.

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by suja82 on March 31, 2016  •  Permalink
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Posted by suja82 on March 31, 2016

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/sedimentology-and-hydrology-of-an-amazonian-paleo-fluivo-lacustrine-systems-on-mars-moa-valles/

Liquid Water and Water Ice on Gale Crater, Mars

Post by Dr. Alberto G. Fairén, Dept. of Astronomy, Cornell University, USA, and Centro de Astrobiología, Spain.

Gale crater, the site of the currently active Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) or Curiosity Rover mission, is a ~154-km-diameter impact crater formed during the Late Noachian/Early Hesperian at the dichotomy boundary on Mars (Cabrol et al., 1999; Anderson and Bell III, 2010; Wray, 2013). The northern floor and rim of Gale are ~1–2 km lower in elevation than its southern floor and rim, and the crater shows a layered central mound named Aeolis Mons, which is 100 km wide, extends over an area of 6000 km2, and is up to 5 km in height (Malin and Edgett, 2000).

Image 1: Details of the lobate features, arcuate ridges and terminal moraines in the central mound of Gale.

Image 1: Details of the lobate features, arcuate ridges and terminal moraines in the central mound of Gale.

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by Mary Bourke on September 1, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on September 1, 2014

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2014/09/01/liquid-water-and-water-ice-on-gale-crater-mars/

Experimental Delta Formation in Crater Lakes

Post by G. de Villiers, Faculty of Geoscience, Utrecht University.

Fan-shaped deposits have been identified on the surface of Mars (Image 1). These sediment bodies often occur within impact craters and, specifically in the cases of fan deltas, suggests that these craters were once lakes early in Martian history. Fan delta morphologies are indicative of upstream (e.g. flow discharge and sediment properties) and downstream (e.g. basin characteristics) parameters, from which the hydrological conditions at the time of formation can be inferred (e.g. Kleinhans et al. 2010).

IAGFigure1

Image 1: Examples of fan delta deposits on Mars, formed in enclosed impact crater or rift basins. A) Single-scarped, branched prograding delta (PSP_006954); B) Single-scarped, smooth prograding delta (I10805012); and C) Multiple-scarped, stepped retrograding delta (V17040003). White line is approximately 5 km.

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by Mary Bourke on August 1, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on August 1, 2014

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2014/08/01/experimental-delta-formation-in-crater-lakes/

Megaflood on Mars from a Breached Crater Lake

Post by Dr Neil Coleman, University of Pittsburgh.

A group of Martian craters formerly contained lakes, some of which overtopped and breached the crater rims to cause flooding and channel erosion.

Image 1: View of Morella Crater and the complex of Elaver Vallis channels eroded by floodwaters released when the crater rim was breached. The distal reaches of Elaver Vallis were obliterated by the southward expansion of Ganges Chasma, which is 5 km deep. The chasma as seen today did not exist during the Elaver flood, otherwise high groundwater pressures would have been relieved by breakouts in the walls and floor of the chasma [graphic is a mosaic of THEMIS daytime infrared (IR) images].

Image 1: View of Morella Crater and the complex of Elaver Vallis channels eroded by floodwaters released when the crater rim was breached. The distal reaches of Elaver Vallis were obliterated by the southward expansion of Ganges Chasma, which is 5 km deep. The chasma as seen today did not exist during the Elaver flood, otherwise high groundwater pressures would have been relieved by breakouts in the walls and floor of the chasma [graphic is a mosaic of THEMIS daytime infrared (IR) images].

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by Mary Bourke on July 1, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on July 1, 2014

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2014/07/01/megaflood-on-mars-from-a-breached-crater-lake/

Ancient Lake Deposits on Mars

Post by Tim Goudge, Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI

There is much morphologic evidence that there was flowing water on the surface of Mars early in its history. Such evidence includes fluvial channels and valleys, often termed valley networks, (e.g., Pieri, 1980; Irwin, 2005a; Fassett and Head, 2008a) as well as paleolake basins that are fed by these valley networks (e.g., Goldspiel and Squyres, 1991; Cabrol and Grin, 1999, 2001; Irwin et al., 2005b; Fassett and Head, 2005, 2008b).

Image 1. Exposed layered deposit of probable lacustrine origin within an open-basin lake (-27.7°N, 76.1°E). Inset image (indicated by red box in main image) shows detailed layering within the exposed deposit. Main image is from the Context Camera (CTX) instrument (image number B02_010338_1518_XI_28S282W; ~5 m/pixel), and inset image is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument (image number PSP_010338_1525; ~50 cm/pixel).

Image 1. Exposed layered deposit of probable lacustrine origin within an open-basin lake (-27.7°N, 76.1°E). Inset image (indicated by red box in main image) shows detailed layering within the exposed deposit. Main image is from the Context Camera (CTX) instrument (image number B02_010338_1518_XI_28S282W; ~5 m/pixel), and inset image is from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) instrument (image number PSP_010338_1525; ~50 cm/pixel).

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by Mary Bourke on April 1, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on April 1, 2014

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2014/04/01/ancient-lake-deposits-on-mars/

Paleolakes on Mars

Post by Dr. Gino Erkeling, Institut für Planetologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Germany

The hypothesis of ancient Martian standing bodies of water, which might have occupied the lowlands of the northern hemisphere and which might have existed in local- to regional-scale paleolakes once in Martian history, is one of the most important subjects of ongoing discussion in Mars research (e.g., Parker et al., 1989, 1993; Head et al., 1999; Cabrol and Grin, 1999, 2001; Clifford and Parker, 2001; Kreslavsky and Head, 2002; Carr and Head, 2003; Ghatan and Zimbelman, 2006; Di Achille and Hynek, 2010; Mouginot et al., 2012). The case for large standing bodies of liquid water, including lakes, seas and oceans, is attributed to a complex hydrologic cycle that may have once existed on Mars in the Noachian (>3.7 Ga) and perhaps also in the Hesperian (>3.1 Ga).

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by Mary Bourke on February 4, 2014  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on February 4, 2014

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2014/02/04/paleolakes-on-mars/

Surface dissolution on Titan and Earth: Ontario Lacus and the Etosha Pan (Namibia) .

Post by Thomas Cornet, Olivier Bourgeois, Stephane Le Mouelic et al.,

Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes, , Université de Nantes, UMR 6112, CNRS, Nantes, France.

Titan, Saturn’s major moon, possesses hydrocarbon lakes and seas in the polar regions [Stofan et al., 2007, Hayes et al., 2008]. Among these, Ontario Lacus (72°S, 180°E, Image 1) is the largest in the south (235 km-long, 75 km-wide). So far it is interpreted as a liquid-covered lake in Titan’s southern hemisphere because of its dark appearance in Cassini image data [Barnes et al., 2009; Turtle et al., 2009; Hayes et al., 2010; Wall et al. 2010], the identification of liquid ethane in its interior [Brown et al., 2008] and the smoothness of its surface [Wye et al., 2009].

Image 1

Image 1: Ontario Lacus (Titan) and the Etosha Pan (Namibia) as surface dissolution morphologies under arid climates. Credits: Envisat ASAR, data provided by the European Space Agency ©ESA 2009, ESA ®; Cassini RADAR, data provided by JPL/NASA. Link to high resolution image

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by Mary Bourke on September 16, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on September 16, 2013

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/surface-dissolution-on-titan-and-earth-ontario-lacus-and-the-etosha-pan-namibia/

Dry lake beds on Mars

Post by M. R. El Maarry, Max‐Planck Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, Katlenburg‐Lindau, Germany

Polygons are some of the most common features at high latitudes on Mars and have been observed by both lander and orbiting spacecraft. They range in size from 2 m all the way up to 10 km and different formation mechanisms have been proposed that include thermal contraction, desiccation, volcanic, and tectonic processes (Buczkowski and McGill, 2002; Levy et al., 2009; Mangold, 2005; Marchant and Head, 2007; McGill and Hills, 1992; Yoshikawa, 2003).

Crater floor polygons have diameters ranging from 15 to 350 m (Image 1). Although, morphologically they resemble both terrestrial thermal contraction polygons and desiccation cracks, their size distribution is significantly larger than thermal contraction polygons that are ubiquitous in the Martian high latitudes.

Image 1

Image 1. Typical crater floor polygons. [A] CTX (a 6 meter/pixel camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, P16_007372_2474).of a 14 km‐sized impact crater (location: 67.2°N, 47.8°E). [B] Close-up from the same image. Two distinct size groups can be seen: A large 70-350 m sized polygons with an average polygon diameter of 120 m and mainly orthogonal trough intersection, and a smaller group, not always present, ranging in size from 5 to 20 m. [C] High resolution HiRISE (a telescopic camera with an impressive 25 cm/pixel resolution onboard the same spacecraft as the CTX, PSP_007372_2247) sub-image for the same crater of a 100 m‐wide polygon with a 6-8 m-wide, frost‐filled troughs surrounding it. Secondary troughs within the larger features form polygons with an average diameter of 10 m. These embedded features are probably periglacial thermal contraction polygons.

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by Mary Bourke on September 16, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on September 16, 2013

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2013/09/16/dry-lake-beds-on-mars/

Lakes on Titan

Posted by Dr. Mary Bourke .

Surface conditions on Titan are near the triple point of methane, suggesting a methane-based hydrologic cycle which may incorporate solid, liquid, and gaseous phases. Albedo patterns on Titan’s surface evident in early Earth-based observations were interpreted as dark hydrocarbon liquids in topographic lows between exposures of bright water-ice bedrock (Lorenz and Lunine, 2005; Smith et al., 1996).

Initial data from the Cassini-Huygens mission detected more than 75 radar dark patches in the northern portion of a 6,000 km long swath of the surface (Image 1). These features measured from 3 km to in excess of 70km across. The backscatter of some of the dark patches had much lower reflectivity than previously imaged areas on Titan, including the radar-dark sand dunes observed near Titan’s equator (Sept. 2007 PGWG featured image).

mage 1: Radar imaging data from a Cassini flyby. The intensity in this false-coloured image is proportional to how much radar brightness is returned. The lakes, darker than the surrounding terrain, are emphasized by tinting regions of low backscatter in blue. Radar-brighter regions are shown in tan. The strip of radar imagery is foreshortened to simulate an oblique view of the highest latitude region, seen from a point to its west. This radar image was acquired by the Cassini radar instrument in synthetic aperture mode on July 22, 2006. The image is centered near 80° north, 35° west and is about 140 kilometers (84 miles) across. Smallest details in this image are about 500 meters (1,640 feet) across. Credit: NASA/JPL

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by Mary Bourke on September 13, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on September 13, 2013

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/lakes-on-titan/

Alluvial Fans on Mars

Post by Ross Irwin.

Alluvial fans are sedimentary deposits that accumulate where streams emerge from steep mountain watersheds onto low-gradient plains. Flooding in the upland area transports a wide range of sediment sizes, and when the stream emerges onto the plain, it no longer has the power to transport the same quantity and size of sediment. Only part of an alluvial fan’s width is active at any one time, but as sediment accumulates in that area, flows will move to steeper routes elsewhere on the fan surface. Sediment may be delivered through normal stream flows or debris flows, which are concentrated slurries of sediment and water. Alluvial fans that were formed mostly by debris flows are usually steeper than their stream-dominated counterparts.

Holden Crater, Mars

Holden Crater, Mars
Image 1: Holden crater (26°S, 34°W) in a Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) daytime infrared mosaic (230 m/pixel) colored with Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter topography. Warm colors are high elevations, cool colors are low, and contour lines mark each 50 m interval of elevation. The green-shaded deposits along the western wall of the crater are the Holden bajada.

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by Mary Bourke on September 11, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on September 11, 2013

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2013/09/11/alluvial-fans-on-mars/

Deltaic sediments on Mars

Post by Dr. Bethany Ehlmann

The Nili Fossae region of Mars has a diversity of minerals that include mafics and phyllosilicates. The mineral assemblage suggests widespread liquid water activity and a variety of alteration processes from surface weathering to hydrothermal processes (Mangold et al., 2007).

Nili Fossae, Mars

Image 1: CRISM infrared spectrometer data (wavelengths: 2.38 um (red), 1.80 um (green), 1.15 um (blue) acquired at 35 m/pixel have been used to colorize a Context Imager grayscale image, taken at 5 m/pixel resolution.

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by Mary Bourke on September 10, 2013  •  Permalink
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Posted by Mary Bourke on September 10, 2013

https://planetarygeomorphology.wordpress.com/2013/09/10/deltaic-sediments-on-mars/

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