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Recent geological and hydrological activity on Mars: The Tharsis/Elysium corridor |
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| Authors: | James M. Dohm, Robert C. Anderson, Nadine G. Barlow, Hirdy Miyamoto, Ashley G. Davies, G. Jeffrey Taylor, Victor R. Baker, William V. Boynton, John Keller, Kris Kerry, Daniel Janes, Alberto G. Fair n, Dirk Schulze-Makuch, Mihaela Glamoclija, Lucia Marinangeli, Gian G. Ori, Robert G. Strom, Jean-Pierre Williams, Justin C. Ferris, J.A.P. Rodrí guez, Miguel A. de Pablo,Suniti Karunatillake |
| Affiliation: | aDepartment of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721,USA bLunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA cJet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Techonolgy, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA dDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA eDepartment of Geosystem Engineering, University of Tokyo, Japan fHawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology, University of Hawai’i, Honolulu, Hawai’i 96822, USA gCentro de Biología Molecular, CSIC-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Cantoblanco, Madrid, Spain hSpace Science and Astrobiology, Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA iSchool of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA jIRSPS, Università d’Annunzio, Pescara, Italy kDivision of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA lWest Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Palmer, AK 99645, USA mDepartment of Earth and Planetary Science, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan nDepartamento de Geología, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain oCenter for Radiophysics and Space Research, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA |
| Abstract: | The paradigm of an ancient warm, wet, and dynamically active Mars, which transitioned into a cold, dry, and internally dead planet, has persisted up until recently despite published Viking-based geologic maps that indicate geologic and hydrologic activity extending into the Late Amazonian epoch. This paradigm is shifting to a water-enriched planet, which may still exhibit internal activity, based on a collection of geologic, hydrologic, topographic, chemical, and elemental evidences obtained by the Viking, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (MO), Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), and Mars Express (MEx) missions. The evidence includes: (1) stratigraphically young rock materials such as pristine lava flows with few, if any, superposed impact craters; (2) tectonic features that cut stratigraphically young materials; (3) features with possible aqueous origin such as structurally controlled channels that dissect stratigraphically young materials and anastomosing-patterned slope streaks on hillslopes; (4) spatially varying elemental abundances for such elements as hydrogen (H) and chlorine (Cl) recorded in rock materials up to 0.33 m depth; and (5) regions of elevated atmospheric methane. This evidence is pronounced in parts of Tharsis, Elysium, and the region that straddles the two volcanic provinces, collectively referred to here as the Tharsis/Elysium corridor. Based in part on field investigations of Solfatara Crater, Italy, recommended as a suitable terrestrial analog, the Tharsis/Elysium corridor should be considered a prime target for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) investigations and future science-driven exploration to investigate whether Mars is internally and hydrologically active at the present time, and whether the persistence of this activity has resulted in biologic activity. |
| Keywords: | Mars Magmatism Tectonism Hydrothermal activity Present Mars Life |
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