Diot, X. and El-Maarry, Mohamed Ramy and Guallini, L. and Schlunegger, F. and Norton, K.P. and Thomas, N. and Sutton, S. and Grindrod, Peter (2015) An ice-rich flow origin for the banded terrain in the Hellas basin, Mars. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 120 (12), pp. 2258-2276. ISSN 2169-9097.
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Abstract
The interior of Hellas Basin displays a complex landscape and a variety of geomorphological domains. One of these domains, the enigmatic banded terrain covers much of the northwestern part of the basin. We use high-resolution (Context Camera and High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) Digital Terrain Models to show that most of the complex viscous flowing behavior exhibited by the banded terrain is controlled by topography and flow-like interactions between neighboring banded terrain. Furthermore, the interior of the basin hosts several landforms suggestive of the presence of near-surface ice, which include polygonal patterns with elongated pits, scalloped depressions, isolated mounds, and collapse structures. We suggest that thermal contraction cracking and sublimation of near-surface ice are responsible for the formation and the development of most of the ice-related landforms documented in Hellas. The relatively pristine form, lack of superposed craters, and strong association with the banded terrain, suggest an Amazonian (<3 Ga) age of formation for these landforms. Finally, relatively high surface pressures (above the triple point of water) expected in Hellas and summertime temperatures often exceeding the melting point of water ice suggest that the basin may have recorded relatively “temperate” climatic conditions compared to other places on Mars. Therefore, the potentially ice-rich banded terrain may have deformed with lower viscosity and stresses compared to other locations on Mars, which may account for its unique morphology.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | 2015JE004956. An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright (2015) American Geophysical Union. |
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | Permafrost, Remote sensing, Ices, Mars, Mars, remote sensing, permafrost, ice |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Peter Grindrod |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Feb 2016 12:01 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:21 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/14209 |
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