New evidence for a volcanically, tectonically, and climatically active Mars |
| |
Authors: | Álvaro Márquez Carlos Fernández Agustín Farelo Miguel-Ángel de la Casa |
| |
Institution: | a Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, 28933 Móstoles, Spain b Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Huelva, Spain c Departamento de Petrología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain d Seminario de Ciencias Planetarias, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain e Departamento de Física Fundamental, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia, Madrid, Spain |
| |
Abstract: | Geological analysis of Mars imagery supports the hypothesis that the planet has been the site of recent (<?10 Ma) volcanic and tectonic processes and glacier flow, and makes most likely previous suggestions of continuing endogenic and exogenic activity. Tectonic structures which deform very slightly cratered (at MOC scales) surfaces of Tharsis Montes and surrounding regions seem to attest to active tectonism (both extensional and transcurrent) on Mars. Exogenic processes in this region, such as a glacial origin for the aureole deposits on the northwestern flanks of the Tharsis Montes shield volcanoes, are supported by new data. The very recent age of these structures could be the first direct confirmation that drastic changes in obliquity are modulating the martian climate, such that an increase in obliquity would result in equatorial glaciers taking the place of the receding polar ice caps. If this and other concurring research is extended and confirmed, the ‘alive Mars’ which would emerge would constitute a most appealing place for exobiology and comparative planetology. |
| |
Keywords: | Mars Tectonics Volcanism Global climate change |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|