Iapygia quadrangle

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Iapygia quadrangle
USGS-Mars-MC-21-IapygiaRegion-mola.png
Map of Iapygia quadrangle from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. The highest elevations are red and the lowest are blue. Terby (crater) contains many rock layers.
Coordinates 15°00′S292°30′W / 15°S 292.5°W / -15; -292.5
Image of the Iapygia Quadrangle (MC-21). Most of the region contains heavily cratered and dissected highlands. The west-central part contains Huygens crater. The southern one-third includes the northern rim of the Hellas basin. PIA00181-MC-21-IapygiaRegion-19980605.jpg
Image of the Iapygia Quadrangle (MC-21). Most of the region contains heavily cratered and dissected highlands. The west-central part contains Huygens crater. The southern one-third includes the northern rim of the Hellas basin.

The Iapygia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Iapygia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-21 (Mars Chart-21). [1] It was named after the heel of the boot of Italy. That name was given by the Greeks [2] It is part of a region of Italy named Apulia. [3] [ circular reference ] The name Iapygia was approved in 1958. [4]

Contents

The Iapygia quadrangle covers the area from 270° to 315° west longitude and from 0° to 30° south latitude on Mars. Parts of the regions Tyrrhena Terra and Terra Sabaea are found in this quadrangle. The largest crater in this quadrangle is Huygens. Some interesting features in this quadrangle are dikes. [5] the many layers found in Terby crater, and the presence of carbonates on the rim of Huygens crater. [6]

Dikes

Near Huygens, especially just to the east of it, are a number of narrow ridges which appear to be the remnants of dikes, like the ones around Shiprock, New Mexico. The dikes were once under the surface, but have now been eroded. Dikes are magma-filled cracks that often carry lava to the surface. Dikes by definition cut across rock layers. Some dikes on earth are associated with mineral deposits. [5] Discovering dikes on Mars means that perhaps future colonists will be able to mine needed minerals on Mars, instead of transporting them all the way from the Earth.

Some features look like dikes, but may be what has been called linear ridge networks. [7] Ridges often appear as mostly straight segments that intersect in a lattice-like manner. They are hundreds of meters long, tens of meters high, and several meters wide. It is thought that impacts created fractures in the surface; these fractures later acted as channels for fluids. Fluids cemented the structures. With the passage of time, surrounding material was eroded away, thereby leaving hard ridges behind. Since the ridges occur in locations with clay, these formations could serve as a marker for clay which requires water for its formation. Water here could have supported life. [8] [9] [10]

Layers

Many places on Mars show rocks arranged in layers. Rock can form layers in a variety of ways. Volcanoes, wind, or water can produce layers. [11] A detailed discussion of layering with many Martian examples can be found in Sedimentary Geology of Mars. [12] Layers can be hardened by the action of groundwater. Martian ground water probably moved hundreds of kilometers, and in the process it dissolved many minerals from the rock it passed through. When ground water surfaces in low areas containing sediments, water evaporates in the thin atmosphere and leaves behind minerals as deposits and/or cementing agents. Consequently, layers of dust could not later easily erode away since they were cemented together.

Craters

Impact craters generally have a rim with ejecta around them, in contrast volcanic craters usually do not have a rim or ejecta deposits. [13] Sometimes craters will display layers. Since the collision that produces a crater is like a powerful explosion, rocks from deep underground are tossed unto the surface. Hence, craters can show us what lies deep under the surface.

Carbonates

Carbonates (calcium or iron carbonates) were discovered in a crater on the rim of Huygens Crater. [14] [15] The impact on the rim exposed material that had been dug up from the impact that created Huygens. These minerals represent evidence that Mars once had a thicker carbon dioxide atmosphere with abundant moisture. These kinds of carbonates only form when there is a lot of water. They were found with the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Earlier, the instrument had detected clay minerals. The carbonates were found near the clay minerals. Both of these minerals form in wet environments. It is supposed that billions of years age Mars was much warmer and wetter. At that time, carbonates would have formed from water and the carbon dioxide-rich atmosphere. Later the deposits of carbonate would have been buried. The double impact has now exposed the minerals. Earth has vast carbonate deposits in the form of limestone. [6]

Evidence of rivers

There is enormous evidence that water once flowed in river valleys on Mars. Images of curved channels have been seen in images from Mars spacecraft dating back to the early 1970s with the Mariner 9 orbiter. [16] [17] [18] [19] Vallis (plural valles) is the Latin word for valley . It is used in planetary geology for the naming of landform features on other planets, including what could be old river valleys that were discovered on Mars, when probes were first sent to Mars. The Viking Orbiters caused a revolution in our ideas about water on Mars; huge river valleys were found in many areas. Space craft cameras showed that floods of water broke through dams, carved deep valleys, eroded grooves into bedrock, and traveled thousands of kilometers. [13] [20] [21] Some valles on Mars (Mangala Vallis, Athabasca Vallis, Granicus Vallis, and Tinjar Valles) clearly begin at graben. On the other hand, some of the large outflow channels begin in rubble-filled low areas called chaos or chaotic terrain. It has been suggested that massive amounts of water were trapped under pressure beneath a thick cryosphere (layer of frozen ground), then the water was suddenly released, perhaps when the cryosphere was broken by a fault. [22] [23]

Dunes

The Iapygia quadrangle contains some dunes. Some of them are barchans. Pictures below show sand dunes in this quadrangle. When there are perfect conditions for producing sand dunes, steady wind in one direction and just enough sand, a barchan sand dune forms. Barchans have a gentle slope on the wind side and a much steeper slope on the lee side where horns or a notch often forms. [24] The whole dune may appear to move with the wind. Observing dunes on Mars can tell us how strong the winds are, as well as their direction. If pictures are taken at regular intervals, one may see changes in the dunes or possibly in ripples on the dune’s surface. On Mars dunes are often dark in color because they were formed from the common, volcanic rock basalt. In the dry environment, dark minerals in basalt, like olivine and pyroxene, do not break down as they do on Earth. Although rare, some dark sand is found on Hawaii which also has many volcanoes discharging basalt. Barchan is a Russian term because this type of dune was first seen in the desert regions of Turkistan. [25] Some of the wind on Mars is created when the dry ice at the poles is heated in the spring. At that time, the solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) sublimates or changes directly to a gas and rushes away at high speeds. Each Martian year 30% of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere freezes out and covers the pole that is experiencing winter, so there is a great potential for strong winds. [26]

Landslides

Other features

Other Mars quadrangles

Interactive icon.svg Clickable image of the 30 cartographic quadrangles of Mars, defined by the USGS. [27] [30] Quadrangle numbers (beginning with MC for "Mars Chart") [31] and names link to the corresponding articles. North is at the top; 0°N180°W / 0°N 180°W / 0; -180 is at the far left on the equator. The map images were taken by the Mars Global Surveyor.
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Interactive Mars map

Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to -8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.
(See also: Mars Rovers map and Mars Memorial map) (view * discuss) Mars Map.JPGCydonia MensaeGale craterHolden craterJezero craterLomonosov craterLyot craterMalea PlanumMaraldi craterMareotis TempeMie craterMilankovič craterSisyphi Planum
Interactive icon.svg Interactive image map of the global topography of Mars. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor . Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memnonia quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Memnonia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Memnonia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-16.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terra Cimmeria</span> Terra on Mars

Terra Cimmeria is a large Martian region, centered at 34.7°S 145°E and covering 5,400 km (3,400 mi) at its broadest extent. It covers latitudes 15 N to 75 S and longitudes 170 to 260 W. It lies in the Eridania quadrangle. Terra Cimmeria is one part of the heavily cratered, southern highland region of the planet. The Spirit rover landed near the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyrrhena Terra</span> Terra on Mars

Tyrrhena Terra is a large area on Mars, centered south of the Martian equator and immediately northeast of the Hellas basin. Its coordinates are 14.8°S 90°E, and it covers 2300 km at its broadest extent. It was named for a classic albedo feature of the planet and is in the Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle of Mars. Tyrrhena Terra is typical of the southern Martian terrae, with heavily cratered highlands and other rugged terrain. It contains the large volcano Tyrrhena Patera, one of the oldest volcanoes on Mars. Its largest crater is Herschel. Licus Vallis and the Ausonia Montes are other major features in the region. Some channels and dunes are visible in Tyrrhena Terra, as shown in the images below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terra Sabaea</span> Terra on Mars

Terra Sabaea is a large area on Mars. Its coordinates are 2°N42°E and it covers 4,700 kilometres (2,900 mi) at its broadest extent. It was named in 1979 after a classic albedo feature on the planet. Terra Sabaea is fairly large and parts of it are found in five quadrangles: Arabia quadrangle, Syrtis Major quadrangle, Iapygia quadrangle, Ismenius Lacus quadrangle, and Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huygens (crater)</span> Crater on Mars

Huygens is an impact crater on Mars named in honour of the Dutch astronomer, mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens. It is the fifth largest recognizable impact crater on Mars after Utopia, Hellas, Argyre, and Isidis, and the largest one with a near intact rim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terby (crater)</span> Crater on Mars

Terby is a crater on the northern edge of Hellas Planitia, Mars. It is in the Iapygia quadrangle. The 174-kilometre-diameter (108 mi) crater is centered at 28°S, 73°E with an elevation of −5 km (−3.1 mi). The crater is named after the Belgian astronomer François J. Terby. It is the site of an ancient lakebed and has clay deposits. Using data from Mars Global Surveyor, Mars Odyssey, Mars Express, and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions researchers believe Terby's layers were formed from sediments settling under water. Crater counts show this happened during the Noachian period. It used to be thought that Terby Crater contained a large delta. However, newer observations have led researchers to think of the layered sequence as part of a group of layers that may have extended all the across Hellas. There is no valley large enough at the northern rim of Terby to have carried the large amount of sediments necessary to produce the layers. Other details in the layers argue against Terby's containing a delta. Fan deposits are some of the thickest on Mars. Hydrated minerals, including iron/magnesium phyllosilicates, have been detected in several layers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noachis quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Noachis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Noachis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-27.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casius quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Casius quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The quadrangle is located in the north-central portion of Mars' eastern hemisphere and covers 60° to 120° east longitude and 30° to 65° north latitude. The quadrangle uses a Lambert conformal conic projection at a nominal scale of 1:5,000,000 (1:5M). The Casius quadrangle is also referred to as MC-6. Casius quadrangle contains part of Utopia Planitia and a small part of Terra Sabaea. The southern and northern borders of the Casius quadrangle are approximately 3,065 km and 1,500 km wide, respectively. The north to south distance is about 2,050 km. The quadrangle covers an approximate area of 4.9 million square km, or a little over 3% of Mars' surface area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syrtis Major quadrangle</span> One of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars

The Syrtis Major quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Syrtis Major quadrangle is also referred to as MC-13.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxia Palus quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Oxia Palus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Oxia Palus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-11.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. It is also referred to as MC-20 . The Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle covers the area from 315° to 360° west longitude and 0° to 30° degrees south latitude on Mars. It contains Schiaparelli, a large, easily visible crater that sits close to the equator. The Sinus Sabaeus quadrangle contains parts of Noachis Terra and Terra Sabaea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle</span> Part of the surface of Mars

The Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. This quadrangle is also referred to as MC-22. It contains parts of the regions Tyrrhena Terra, Hesperia Planum, and Terra Cimmeria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle</span> One of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars

The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle is also referred to as MC-19. The Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle covers the area from 0° to 45° west longitude and 0° to 30° south latitude on Mars. Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle contains Margaritifer Terra and parts of Xanthe Terra, Noachis Terra, Arabia Terra, and Meridiani Planum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eridania quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Eridania quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Eridania quadrangle is also referred to as MC-29.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phaethontis quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Phaethontis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Phaethontis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-24.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thaumasia quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Thaumasia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Thaumasia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-25 . The name comes from Thaumas, the god of the clouds and celestial apparitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Argyre quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Argyre quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Argyre quadrangle is also referred to as MC-26. It contains Argyre Planitia and part of Noachis Terra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mare Australe quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Mare Australe quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Mare Australe quadrangle is also referred to as MC-30. The quadrangle covers all the area of Mars south of 65°, including the South polar ice cap, and its surrounding area. The quadrangle's name derives from an older name for a feature that is now called Planum Australe, a large plain surrounding the polar cap. The Mars polar lander crash landed in this region.

Mars may contain ores that would be very useful to potential colonists. The abundance of volcanic features together with widespread cratering are strong evidence for a variety of ores. While nothing may be found on Mars that would justify the high cost of transport to Earth, the more ores that future colonists can obtain from Mars, the easier it would be to build colonies there.

The common surface features of Mars include dark slope streaks, dust devil tracks, sand dunes, Medusae Fossae Formation, fretted terrain, layers, gullies, glaciers, scalloped topography, chaos terrain, possible ancient rivers, pedestal craters, brain terrain, and ring mold craters.

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