Aspledon Undae

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USGS map showing the location of Aspledon Undae in Planum Boreum. The prime meridian is at the bottom of the map. Aspledon Undae is shown on the southernmost black patch left, between longitude 291.38degE to 301.4degE (43.98degW - 57.08degW). USGS-Mars-MC-1 Map of Planum Boreum cropped.jpg
USGS map showing the location of Aspledon Undae in Planum Boreum. The prime meridian is at the bottom of the map. Aspledon Undae is shown on the southernmost black patch left, between longitude 291.38°E to 301.4°E (43.98°W – 57.08°W).

Aspledon Undae is one of the named northern circumpolar dune fields in the vicinity of Planum Boreum, the Martian North pole. It is named after one of the classical albedo features on Mars. [1] Its name was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on 20 March 2007. Its name is Greek, [1] and derives from the name of a town in Boeotia, Ancient Greece, which, in turn, took its name from Aspledon (Ancient Greek : Ασπληδών), [2] son of Poseidon, the ancient Greek god of the sea. [3] [4] [5] The dunes of Aspledon Undae extend from latitude 71.47°N to 75.14°N and from longitude 305.83°E to 315.04°E (44.96°W – 54.17°W). [1] Its centre is located at latitude 73.06°N, longitude 309.65°E (50.35°W), and has a diameter of 215.2 km. [1]

Contents

Aspledon Undae is the southernmost of the albedo-named dune fields of Planum Boreum, and lies to the south of Hyperboreae Undae and southeast of Siton Undae. It is theorised that the formation of Aspledon Undae may have occurred during early erosion incidents of the Planum Boreum cavi unit, and that Rupes Tenuis may have also been a sand source, although it is now depleted. Other dune fields sharing the same formation history include Olympia and Siton Undae. [6] Aspledon Undae, along with Hyperboreae, Siton, Olympia, and Alalos Undae is one of the five named northern circumpolar dune fields. However, unlike the other four, it is not one of the densest. [7] The dune field of Aspledon Undae, along with those of Siton, Hyperboreae, and Abalos Undae, [6] overlays the lowlands of Vastitas Borealis. [8] Aspledon Undae has been imaged by NASA's 2001 Mars Odyssey robotic spacecraft using the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera on board the spacecraft. [9]

Formation

Aspledon Undae, a dune field near the Martian north pole. The bottom side of the image shows hundreds of small, isolated dunes. On the top side, these small dunes appear to have coalesced into larger dune forms. Aspledon Undae.jpg
Aspledon Undae, a dune field near the Martian north pole. The bottom side of the image shows hundreds of small, isolated dunes. On the top side, these small dunes appear to have coalesced into larger dune forms.

According to Tanaka et al., Planum Boreum lies on two major basal units: The Rupes Tenuis unit and the Planum Boreum Cavi unit. The age of the Rupes Tenuis unit is early Amazonian, while the Planum Boreum Cavi unit overlays the Rupes Tenuis unit, and its age is Middle to Late Amazonian. The Olympia Undae unit may have formed during early denudation incidents of the Planum Boreum Cavi unit in its immediate neighbourhood. [6] More distant dune fields from the Planum Boreum Cavi unit, such as Siton, Aspledon, and a large portion of Olympia Undae may have formed during earlier erosional events of the Planum Boreum Cavi unit. [6] Other sources to these dune fields may include Rupes Tenuis, although this source is now considered to be exhausted. [6]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperboreae Undae</span> Martian dune field

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ogygis Undae</span> Martian dune field

Ogygis Undae is the only named southern hemisphere dune field on Mars. It is named after one of the classical albedo features on Mars, Ogygis Regio. Its name, which refers to Ogyges, a primeval mythological ruler in ancient Greece, was officially approved by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) on September 17, 2015. It is situated just outside Argyre Planitia, a plain located in the southern highlands of Mars. The dunes of Ogygis Undae extend from latitude −49.94°N to −49.37°N and from longitude 292.64°E to 294.93°E. They are centered at latitude −49.66°N, longitude 293.79°E (66.21°W), and extend approximately 87 km to the east and west from there. Ogygis Undae has an area of 1904 km2, and due to its large size is a primary subject for research on Martian dune morphology and sand composition.

Deseado Crater is a large Hesperian- or Amazonian-age impact crater in Promethei Planum near the south pole of Mars, within the Mare Australe quadrangle, due south of the Hellas impact basin. It is named for Puerto Deseado, Argentina. The crater contains a central topographic high interpreted to be an ice mound of probable Amazonian age. Despite the proximity of the ice mound to the southern polar ice sheet, it is not interpreted to have initially been a part of it. Deseado Crater features in the Mass Effect trilogy as the home of a structure constructed by a species called the Protheans to study the evolution of early humans.

References

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