Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle

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Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle
USGS-Mars-MC-22-MareTyrrhenumRegion-mola.png
Map of Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle from Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data. The highest elevations are red and the lowest are blue.
Coordinates 15°00′S247°30′W / 15°S 247.5°W / -15; -247.5
Image of Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle (MC-22). Most of the region contains heavily cratered highlands. The central part contains Tyrrhena Patera and the associated ridged plains of Hesperia Planum. PIA00182-MC-22-MareTyrrhenumRegion-19980605.jpg
Image of Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle (MC-22). Most of the region contains heavily cratered highlands. The central part contains Tyrrhena Patera and the associated ridged plains of Hesperia Planum.

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 (Mars Chart-22). [1] It contains parts of the regions Tyrrhena Terra, Hesperia Planum, and Terra Cimmeria.

Contents

The Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle covers the area from 225° to 270° west longitude and 0° to 30° south latitude on Mars. Schiaparelli named the area after Earth's Tyrrhenian Sea, which lies between Italy and Sicily. The region was subsequently renamed to Mare Tyrrhena after spacecraft photos revealed that it is an old, cratered plain rather than a sea. It contains the large volcano Tyrrhenus Mons, one of the oldest, and perhaps the most complex volcanoes on Mars. [2] [3] Mare Tyrrhenum's largest crater is Herschel. Licus Vallis and the Ausonia Montes are other major features in the region.

Fossa on Mars

Large troughs (long narrow depressions) are called fossae in the geographical language used for Mars. Troughs form when the crust is stretched until it breaks. The stretching can be due to the large weight of a nearby volcano. Fossae/pit craters are common near volcanoes in the Tharsis and Elysium system of volcanoes. [4] A trough often has two breaks with a middle section moving down, leaving steep cliffs along the sides; such a trough is called a graben. [5] Lake George, in northern New York State, is a lake that sits in a graben. Studies have found that on Mars a fault may be as deep as 5 km, that is the break in the rock goes down to 5 km. Moreover, the crack or fault sometimes widens or dilates. This widening causes a void to form with a relatively high volume. When material slides into the void, a pit crater or a pit crater chain forms. Pit craters do not have rims or ejecta around them, like impact craters do. On Mars, individual pit craters can join to form chains or even to form troughs that are sometimes scalloped. [6] Other ideas have been suggested for the formation of fossae and pit craters. There is evidence that they are associated with dikes of magma. Magma might move along, under the surface, breaking the rock and more importantly melting ice. The resulting action would cause a crack to form at the surface. Pit craters are not common on Earth. Sinkholes, where the ground falls into a hole (sometimes in the middle of a town) resemble pit craters on Mars. However, on the Earth these holes are caused by limestone being dissolved thereby causing a void. [6] [7] [8] Tyrrhenus Mons has some beautiful fossae and pit craters associated with it. These features are easily visible in the gallery image below, obtained by HiRISE.

Knowledge of the locations and formation mechanisms of pit craters and fossae is important for the future colonization of Mars because they may be reservoirs of water. [9]

Craters

Hydrothermal features in Auki

Topographical map showing location of Auki crater and other nearby features. Color shows elevation. Topoauki.jpg
Topographical map showing location of Auki crater and other nearby features. Color shows elevation.

The crater Auki shows ridge networks that are believed to be evidence of hydrothermal processes that occurred after impact. Impacts fracture rock and create enormous amounts of heat. On Mars, this heat can cause ice to melt and then the resulting water to move through cracks that are generated during impact. This water will eventually deposit minerals. The mineral deposits may become evident when surrounding ground erodes. Deposits formed in this manner are more resistant to erosion.

Researchers have speculated that these hydrothermal effects should be common on Mars. [10] Ridges found in and around the center of Auki are evidence. This crater contains ridges that may have been produced after fractures formed with an impact. Using instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter they found the minerals smectite, silica, zeolite, serpentine, carbonate, and chlorite that are common in impact-induced hydrothermal systems on Earth. [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] Other evidence of post-impact hydrothermal systems on Mars from other scientists who studied other Martian craters. [17] [18] [19]

Channels

There is enormous evidence that water once flowed in river valleys and channels 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. [20] [21] [22] [23] 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. [24] [25] [26] 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. [27] [ citation needed ] [28]

Linear ridge networks

Linear ridge networks are found in various places on Mars in and around craters. [29] 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. [30] [31] [32] Water here could have supported past life in these locations. Clay may also preserve fossils or other traces of past life.

Dunes

Sand dunes have been found in many places on Mars. The presence of dunes shows that the planet has an atmosphere with wind, for dunes require wind to pile up the sand. Most dunes on Mars are black because of the weathering of the volcanic rock basalt. [33] [34] Black sand can be found on Earth on Hawaii and on some tropical South Pacific islands. [35] Sand is common on Mars due to the old age of the surface that has allowed rocks to erode into sand. Dunes on Mars have been observed to move many meters. [36] [37] Some dunes move along. In this process, sand moves up the windward side and then falls down the leeward side of the dune, thus caused the dune to go toward the leeward side (or slip face). [38] When images are enlarged, some dunes on Mars display ripples on their surfaces. [39] These are caused by sand grains rolling and bouncing up the windward surface of a dune. The bouncing grains tend to land on the windward side of each ripple. The grains do not bounce very high so it does not take much to stop them.

See also

Related Research Articles

In planetary nomenclature, a fossa is a long, narrow depression (trough) on the surface of an extraterrestrial body, such as a planet or moon. The term, which means "ditch" or "trench" in Latin, is not a geological term as such but a descriptor term used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the International Astronomical Union (IAU) for topographic features whose geology or geomorphology is uncertain due to lack of data or knowledge of the exact processes that formed them. Fossae are believed to be the result of a number of geological processes, such as faulting or subsidence. Many fossae on Mars are probably graben.

<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">Tempe Terra</span> Terra on Mars

Tempe Terra is a heavily cratered highland region in the northern hemisphere of the planet Mars. Located at the northeastern edge of the Tharsis volcanic province, Tempe Terra is notable for its high degree of crustal fracturing and deformation. The region also contains many small shield volcanoes, lava flows, and other volcanic structures.

<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">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">Arcadia quadrangle</span> Map of Mars

The Arcadia 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’ western hemisphere and covers 240° to 300° 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 Arcadia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-3. The name comes from a mountainous region in southern Greece. It was adopted by IAU, in 1958.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elysium quadrangle</span> One of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the US Geological Survey

The Elysium quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Elysium quadrangle is also referred to as MC-15.

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

The Amazonis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Amazonis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-8.

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

The Tharsis quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Tharsis quadrangle is also referred to as MC-9 . The name Tharsis refers to a land mentioned in the Bible. It may be at the location of the old town of Tartessus at the mouth of Guadalquivir.

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

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. It was named after the heel of the boot of Italy. That name was given by the Greeks It is part of a region of Italy named Apulia. The name Iapygia was approved in 1958.

<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">Ceraunius Fossae</span> Set of fractures in the northern Tharsis region of Mars

The Ceraunius Fossae are a set of fractures in the northern Tharsis region of Mars. They lie directly south of the large volcano Alba Mons and consist of numerous parallel faults and tension cracks that deform the ancient highland crust. In places, younger lava flows cover the fractured terrain, dividing it into several large patches or islands. They are found in the Tharsis quadrangle.

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.

HiWish is a program created by NASA so that anyone can suggest a place for the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to photograph. It was started in January 2010. In the first few months of the program 3000 people signed up to use HiRISE. The first images were released in April 2010. Over 12,000 suggestions were made by the public; suggestions were made for targets in each of the 30 quadrangles of Mars. Selected images released were used for three talks at the 16th Annual International Mars Society Convention. Below are some of the over 4,224 images that have been released from the HiWish program as of March 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hesperia Planum</span> Broad lava plain in the southern highlands of the planet Mars

Hesperia Planum is a broad lava plain in the southern highlands of the planet Mars. The plain is notable for its moderate number of impact craters and abundant wrinkle ridges. It is also the location of the ancient volcano Tyrrhena Mons. The Hesperian time period on Mars is named after Hesperia Planum.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakes on Mars</span> Former Bodies of Water on Mars

In summer 1965, the first close-up images from Mars showed a cratered desert with no signs of water. However, over the decades, as more parts of the planet were imaged with better cameras on more sophisticated satellites, Mars showed evidence of past river valleys, lakes and present ice in glaciers and in the ground. It was discovered that the climate of Mars displays huge changes over geologic time because its axis is not stabilized by a large moon, as Earth's is. Also, some researchers maintain that surface liquid water could have existed for periods of time due to geothermal effects, chemical composition, or asteroid impacts. This article describes some of the places that could have held large lakes.

Linear ridge networks are found in various places on Mars in and around craters. These features have also been called "polygonal ridge networks", "boxwork ridges", and "reticulate ridges". 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. It is reasonable to think that on Mars impacts broke the ground with cracks since faults are often formed in impact craters on Earth. One could guess that these ridge networks were dikes, but dikes would go more or less in the same direction, as compared to these ridges that have a large variety of orientations. 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 past life in these locations. Clay may also preserve fossils or other traces of past life.

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

Auki is an impact crater in the Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle of Mars, at 15.76 °S latitude and 263.13 °W longitude. It is 40.0 km in diameter and was named after Auki, a town in the Solomon Islands, in 2015 by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Working Group for Planetary System Nomenclature (WGPSN).

References

  1. ↑ Davies, M.E.; Batson, R.M.; Wu, S.S.C. “Geodesy and Cartography” in Kieffer, H.H.; Jakosky, B.M.; Snyder, C.W.; Matthews, M.S., Eds. Mars. University of Arizona Press: Tucson, 1992.
  2. ↑ Hartmann, W. 2003. A Traveler's Guide to Mars. Workman Publishing. NY NY.
  3. ↑ Carr, M. 2007. The surface of Mars. Cambridge University Press. New York. ISBN   978-0-521-87201-0
  4. ↑ Skinner, J., L. Skinner, and J. Kargel. 2007. Re-assessment of Hydrovolcanism-based Resurfacing within the Galaxias Fossae Region of Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII (2007)
  5. ↑ "HiRISE | Craters and Pit Crater Chains in Chryse Planitia (PSP_008641_2105)".
  6. 1 2 Wyrick, D., D. Ferrill, D. Sims, and S. Colton. 2003. Distribution, Morphology and Structural Associations of Martian Pit Crater Chains. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIV (2003)
  7. ↑ http://www.swri.edu/4org/d20/DEMPS/planetgeo/planetmars.html%5B‍%5D
  8. ↑ "Mars Global Surveyor MOC2-620 Release".
  9. ↑ Ferrill, D., D. Wyrick, A. Morris, D. Sims, and N. Franklin. 2004. Dilational fault slip and pit chain formation on Mars 14:10:4-12
  10. ↑ Osinski, G., et al. 2013. Impact-generated hydrothermal systems on Earth and Mars. Icarus: 224, 347-363.
  11. ↑ Carrozzo, F. et al. 2017. Geology and mineralogy of the Auki Crater, Tyrrhena Terra, Mars: A possible post impact-induced hydrothermal system. 281: 228-239
  12. ↑ Loizeau, D. et al. 2012. Characterization of hydrated silicate-bearing outcrops in tyrrhena Terra, Mars: implications to the alteration history of Mars. Icarus: 219, 476-497.
  13. ↑ Naumov, M. 2005. Principal features of impact-generated hydrothermal circulation systems: mineralogical and geochemical evidence. Geofluids: 5, 165-184.
  14. ↑ Ehlmann, B., et al. 2011. Evidence for low-grade metamorphism, hydrothermal alteration, and diagenesis on Mars from phyllosilicate mineral assemblages. Clays Clay Miner: 59, 359-377.
  15. ↑ Osinski, G. et al. 2013. Impact-generated hydrothermal systems on Earth and Mars. Icarus: 224, 347-363.
  16. ↑ Schwenzer, S., D. Kring. 2013. Alteration minerals in impact-generated hydrothermal systems – Exploring host rock variability. Icarus: 226, 487-496.
  17. ↑ Marzo, G., et al. 2010. Evidence for hesperian impact-induced hydrothermalism on Mars. Icarus: 667-683.
  18. ↑ Mangold, N., et al. 2012. Hydrothermal alteration in a late hesperian impact crater on Mars. 43rd Lunar and Planetary Science. #1209.
  19. ↑ Tornabene, L., et al. 2009. Parautochthonous megabreccias and possible evidence of impact-induced hydrothermal alteration in holden crater, Mars. 40th LPSC. #1766.
  20. ↑ Baker, V. 1982. The Channels of Mars. Univ. of Tex. Press, Austin, TX
  21. ↑ Baker, V., R. Strom, R., V. Gulick, J. Kargel, G. Komatsu, V. Kale. 1991. Ancient oceans, ice sheets and the hydrological cycle on Mars. Nature 352, 589–594.
  22. ↑ Carr, M. 1979. Formation of Martian flood features by release of water from confined aquifers. J. Geophys. Res. 84, 2995–300.
  23. ↑ Komar, P. 1979. Comparisons of the hydraulics of water flows in Martian outflow channels with flows of similar scale on Earth. Icarus 37, 156–181.
  24. ↑ Hugh H. Kieffer (1992). Mars. University of Arizona Press. ISBN   978-0-8165-1257-7 . Retrieved 7 March 2011.
  25. ↑ Raeburn, P. 1998. Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet Mars. National Geographic Society. Washington D.C.
  26. ↑ Moore, P. et al. 1990. The Atlas of the Solar System. Mitchell Beazley Publishers NY, NY.
  27. ↑ Carr, M. 1979. Formation of martian flood features by release of water from confined aquifers. J. Geophys. Res. 84: 2995-3007.
  28. ↑ Hanna, J. and R. Phillips. 2005. Tectonic pressurization of aquifers in the formation of Mangala and Athabasca Valles on Mars. LPSC XXXVI. Abstract 2261.
  29. ↑ Head, J., J. Mustard. 2006. Breccia dikes and crater-related faults in impact craters on Mars: Erosion and exposure on the floor of a crater 75 km in diameter at the dichotomy boundary, Meteorit. Planet Science: 41, 1675-1690.
  30. ↑ Mangold et al. 2007. Mineralogy of the Nili Fossae region with OMEGA/Mars Express data: 2. Aqueous alteration of the crust. J. Geophys. Res., 112, doi:10.1029/2006JE002835.
  31. ↑ Mustard et al., 2007. Mineralogy of the Nili Fossae region with OMEGA/Mars Express data: 1. Ancient impact melt in the Isidis Basin and implications for the transition from the Noachian to Hesperian, J. Geophys. Res., 112.
  32. ↑ Mustard et al., 2009. Composition, Morphology, and Stratigraphy of Noachian Crust around the Isidis Basin, J. Geophys. Res., 114, doi:10.1029/2009JE003349.
  33. ↑ "HiRISE | Dunes and Inverted Craters in Arabia Terra (ESP_016459_1830)".
  34. ↑ Michael H. Carr (2006). The surface of Mars. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   978-0-521-87201-0 . Retrieved 21 March 2011.
  35. ↑ "Sand Dunes - Phenomena of the Wind - DesertUSA".
  36. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Curiosity Rover Report (Dec. 15, 2015): First Visit to Martian Dunes". YouTube . 15 December 2015.
  37. ↑ "The Flowing Sands of Mars". 9 May 2012.
  38. ↑ Namowitz, S., Stone, D. 1975. earth science the world we live in. American Book Company. New York.
  39. ↑ NASA.gov

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