Matthew R. Balme

Orientation and distribution of recent gullies in the southern hemisphere of Mars: Observations from High Resolution Stereo Camera/Mars Express (HRSC/MEX) and Mars Orbiter Camera/Mars Global Surveyor (MOC/MGS) data

Geologically recent small gullies on Mars display morphologies consistent with erosion by water or by debris flows. Suggested formation models are divided into two main categories: (1) groundwater or (2) melting of near-surface ice/snow sourced from the atmosphere. We have measured location and orientation and recorded the local contexts of gullies to constrain the likely models of gully formation. More than 22,000 Mars Orbiter Camera Narrow Angle (MOC NA) and >120 Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) images in the southern hemisphere were searched for gullies. Discrete gullied slope sections with consistent orientation were recorded rather than individual gullies. Slope setting (impact crater, valley wall, etc.), location, and orientation were recorded for each slope section. More than 750 MOC images with gullies (>900 distinct gullied slope sections) and more than 40 HRSC images (>380 distinct gullied slope sections) were identified. From both MOC and HRSC, gullies were found to be most common between 30 and 50 degrees latitude and to have an overall pole facing preference. The preferred gully orientation for HRSC is southeast rather than south in MOC, owing to illumination effects that make gullies difficult to detect on south- to southwest-facing slopes in HRSC. In both MOC and HRSC surveys, higher-latitude gullies show less preference for pole facing than those at mid latitudes. Both data sets produced similar results, demonstrating that our data are reliable. We suggest that the observed latitudinal and orientation distributions of gullies show that insolation and atmospheric conditions play a key role in gully formation.

Mars: Dust devil track survey in Argyre Planitia and Hellas Basin

Dust devils and dust devil tracks have been frequently observed in Viking Orbiter and Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) images, but the parameters that control their distribution have been poorly constrained. Here we investigate the abundance of dust devil tracks in two large study areas, Argyre Planitia and Hellas Basin, using a survey of over 3000 MOC narrow-angle (NA) images. We report the effect of season, elevation, and surface properties on track distribution using measurements of dust devil track density (the number of dust devil tracks per square kilometer). In both areas, dust devil tracks occur predominantly in summer and are rarely observed in winter. The lifetime of dust devil tracks is inferred to be short (i.e., less than a few months). There is no unambiguous correlation of abundance with elevation; rather the spatial distribution follows albedo patterns, suggesting that dust availability controls the abundance of dust devil tracks. We estimate the total dust lifting potential of dust devils using the average dust devil track density for Argyre and Hellas and conclude that, unless the average dust devil track is greater than 20 m wide, longer than 2 km, and more than 40 mm deep, they cannot account for the estimated global sedimentation rate. In addition, by comparing 2 Mars years of observations, we find no evidence of an increase in dust devil track density prior to the global dust storm that occurred in June 2001. We conclude that dust devils did not trigger this storm.

Fracture toughness measurements on igneous rocks using a high-pressure, high-temperature rock fracture mechanics cell

Abstract A sound knowledge of mechanical properties of rocks at high temperatures and pressures is essential for modelling volcanological problems such as fracture of lava flows and dike emplacement. In particular, fracture toughness is a scale-invariant material property of a rock that describes its resistance to tensile failure. A new fracture mechanics apparatus has been constructed enabling fracture toughness measurements on large (60 mm diameter) rock core samples at temperatures up to 750°C and pressures up to 50 MPa. We present a full description of this apparatus and, by plotting fracture resistance as a function of crack length, show that the size of the samples is sufficient for reliable fracture toughness measurements. A series of tests on Icelandic, Vesuvian and Etnean basalts at temperatures from 30 to 600°C and confining pressures up to 30 MPa gave fracture toughness values between 1.4 and 3.8 MPa m1/2. The Icelandic basalt is the strongest material and the Etnean material sampled from the surface crust of a lava flow the weakest. Increasing temperature does not greatly affect the fracture toughness of the Etnean or Vesuvian material but the Icelandic samples showed a marked increase in toughness at around 150°C, followed by a return to ambient toughness levels. This material also became tougher under moderate confining pressure but the other two materials showed little change in toughness. We describe in terms of fracture mechanics probable causes for the changes in fracture toughness and compare our experimental results with values obtained from dike propagation modelling found in the literature.

Dust flux within dust devils: Preliminary laboratory simulations

Laboratory simulations using the Arizona State University Vortex Generator (ASUVG) were run to simulate dust flux in dust devils. These tests used particles 2 μm in diameter and 2600 kg m−3 in density, and the results were compared with data from natural dust devils on Earth and Mars. Typically, the cores of dust devils (regardless of planetary environment) have a pressure drop of ∼0.2–1.5 percent of ambient atmospheric pressure. Core pressure drops in our experiments ranged from ∼0.01 to 5.00 percent of ambient pressure (10 mbar Mars cases and 1000 mbar for Earth cases). Flux experiments were run at vortex tangential wind velocities of 1 to 42 m s−1; typically ∼35–50 percent above threshold values for the particles used. Dust flux was determined by time averaged measurements of mass loss for a given vortex size. Dust fluxes of ∼10−3 kg m−2 s−1 were obtained, similar to estimates for flux for dust devils on Earth and Mars, regardless of core size. Vortex strength appears to be closely related to the strength of the pressure drop in the core (ΔP) and is less determined by size of the vortex. This is critical in scaling the laboratory results to natural dust devils.

Salt-bearing fumarole deposits in the summit crater of Oldoinyo Lengai, Northern Tanzania: interactions between natrocarbonatite lava and meteoric water

Oldoinyo Lengai in the Northern Tanzania rift is the only active nephelinite–carbonatite stratovolcano. We report the discovery of thermonatrite, aphthitalite, halite and sylvite fumarole deposits on recent natrocarbonatite lava flows erupted in the summit crater during the wet season. These salt deposits occur as delicate, concave fringes or tubes that line the cooling cracks in the lava flows and consist of intergrowths of euhedral crystals. The presence of a dark altered zone, depleted in halides and alkalies, adjacent to cooling cracks and observations of steam fumaroles emanating from the fractures suggest that the salts are formed by sublimation from saturated vapours generated by the extrusion of lavas over meteoric water. The crystallisation sequence recorded in the salts suggests that mixing between meteoric steam and magmatic CO2 and H2S occurs at high temperatures resulting in the sublimation of carbonates and sulphates. At lower temperatures the vapours are dominated by meteoric steam and sublimate halides. The high solubility of the fumarole salts within meteoric water and their formation only during the wet season implies that these are ephemeral deposits that are unlikely to be preserved in the geological record.

The indication of Martian gully formation processes by slope–area analysis

Abstract The formation process of recent gullies on Mars is currently under debate. This study aims to discriminate between the proposed formation processes – pure water flow, debris flow and dry mass wasting – through the application of geomorphological indices commonly used in terrestrial geomorphology. High-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) of Earth and Mars were used to evaluate the drainage characteristics of small slope sections. Data from Earth were used to validate the hillslope, debris-flow and alluvial process domains previously found for large fluvial catchments on Earth, and these domains were applied to gullied and ungullied slopes on Mars. In accordance with other studies, our results indicate that debris flow is one of the main processes forming the Martian gullies that were being examined. The source of the water is predominantly distributed surface melting, not an underground aquifer. Evidence is also presented indicating that other processes may have shaped Martian crater slopes, such as ice-assisted creep and solifluction, in agreement with the proposed recent Martian glacial and periglacial climate. Our results suggest that, within impact craters, different processes are acting on differently oriented slopes, but further work is needed to investigate the potential link between these observations and changes in Martian climate.

Decameter thick remnant glacial ice deposits on Mars

On Mars, a smooth, draping unit—the “latitude-dependant mantle” (LDM), believed to comprise meter thick layers of dust and ice—extends from the midlatitudes to the poles, covering at least 23% of the surface. We show that the LDM can be 30 m deep on pole-facing crater walls, and by measuring the erosional and depositional volumes of small gullies that incise these LDM deposits, we show that it must contain between 46% and 95% ice by volume. Extrapolating to a global scale, these deposits account for ~104 km3 of near-surface ice, doubling previous LDM volume estimates. Thick LDM deposits can be emplaced during the many orbital variation-driven climate excursions that occurred during the Amazonian period. We suggest that LDM deposits are similar to ice sheets composed of massive ice with a surface lag.

Identifying Martian gully evolution

Abstract Martian gullies are small-scale, geologically recent features characterized by the alcove-channel-apron morphology associated with flows with a component of liquid water. Theories advanced to explain Martian gully formation include groundwater processes and melting of near-surface ice due to climate variation. Gullies are often associated with ‘mantling terrain’ that drapes topography at mid to high latitudes and which has been proposed to be ice-rich. We have morphologically classified Martian gullies into four groupings according to whether they form solely within the mantle (Type A), erode into ‘bedrock’ (Type B), and by how well developed they appear (1 or 2). Orientation, length, geological setting and latitude were also recorded, as well as whether more than one generation of gullies formed on a given slope (labelled ‘reactivated’). About 25% of gullies form solely within the mantle; these are generally shorter than gullies that erode bedrock and the morphologically simplest gullies (A1) are the shortest. We present latitude and orientation trends for the most recent episode of gully formation. We suggest that this recent activity is probably controlled by either deposition of ice-rich material or degradation of pre-existing ice-rich material.

Morphological evidence for geologically young thaw of ice on Mars: A review of recent studies using high-resolution imaging data

Liquid water is generally only meta-stable on Mars today; it quickly freezes, evaporates or boils in the cold, dry, thin atmosphere (surface pressure is about 200 times lower than on Earth). Nevertheless, there is morphological evidence that surface water was extensive in more ancient times, including the Noachian Epoch (∼4.1 Ga to ∼3.7 Ga bp), when large lakes existed and river-like channel networks were incised, and early in the Hesperian Epoch (∼3.7 Ga to ∼2.9 Ga bp), when megafloods carved enormous channels and smaller fluvial networks developed in association with crater-lakes. However, by the Amazonian Epoch (∼3.0 Ga to present), most surface morphogenesis associated with liquid water had ceased, with long periods of water sequestration as ice in the near-surface and polar regions. However, inferences from observations using imaging data with sub-metre pixel sizes indicate that periglacial landscapes, involving morphogenesis associated with ground-ice and/or surface-ice thaw and liquid flows, has been active within the last few million years. In this paper, three such landform assemblages are described: a high-latitude assemblage comprising features interpreted to be sorted clastic stripes, circles and polygons, non-sorted polygonally patterned ground, fluvial gullies, and solifluction lobes; a mid-latitude assemblage comprising gullies, patterned ground, debris-covered glaciers and hillslope stripes; and an equatorial assemblage of linked basins, patterned ground, possible pingos, and channel-and-scarp features interpreted to be retrogressive thaw-slumps. Hypotheses to explain these observations are explored, including recent climate change, and hydrated minerals in the regolith ‘thawing’ to form liquid brines at very low temperatures. The use of terrestrial analogue field sites is also discussed.

Groundwater processes in Hebes Chasma, Mars

We describe a conceptual model of groundwater processes at Hebes Chasma, Mars, which can account for the distribution of hydrated minerals and their subsequent evolution. At Hebes Chasma, pressure gradients set up by the large central mound, Hebes Mensa, could cause groundwater to be sourced predominantly from beneath the central region, if such water were present. Evaporation of upwelling groundwater would cause monohydrates to form at or near the surface through efflorescence, and polyhydrates to form inside the central mound through subflorescence. This crystallization could lead to an excess pore pressure, causing large-scale weakening and subsequent collapse that can reveal the interior polyhydrated deposits. If evaporation is high compared to groundwater inflow, then increased crystallization would promote the formation of collapse zones. If evaporation is low compared to groundwater inflow then there would be a greater chance for water reaching the surface and the possible formation of karst landforms.