Soare, R.J. and Conway, S.J. and Dohm, J.M. and El-Maarry, Mohamed Ramy (2014) Possible open-system (hydraulic) pingos in and around the Argyre impact region of Mars. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 398 , pp. 25-36. ISSN 0012-821X.
Abstract
We report the observation of possible (hydraulic) open-system pingos (OSPs) at the mid latitudes (S) in and around the Argyre impact-basin. OSPs are perennial (water)–ice cored mounds; they originate and evolve in periglacial and pro-glacial landscapes on Earth where intra- or sub-permafrost water under hydraulic/artesian pressure uplifts localised sections of surface or near-surface permafrost that then freezes in-situ. We invoke three lines of evidence in support of our analogue-based interpretation: (1) similarities of shape, size and summit traits between terrestrial OSPs and the Martian mounds; (2) clustered distribution and the slope-side location of the mounds, consistent with terrestrial permafrost-environments where OSPs are found; and, (3) spatially-associated landforms putatively indicative of periglacial and glacial processes on Mars that characterise OSP landscapes on Earth. This article presents five OSP candidate-locations and nests these mound locations within a new geological map of the Argyre impact-basin and margins. It also presents three periglacial hypotheses about the possible origin of the water required to develop the mounds. Alternative (non-periglacial) formation-hypotheses also are considered; however, we show that their robustness is not equal to that of the periglacial ones.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keyword(s) / Subject(s): | Mars, climate, atmosphere, surface |
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science > School of Natural Sciences |
| Depositing User: | Administrator |
| Date Deposited: | 06 Dec 2018 15:23 |
| Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2023 17:46 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/25377 |
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