The dispersal of pyroclasts from Apollinaris Patera, Mars: Implications for the origin of the Medusae Fossae Formation |
| |
Authors: | Laura Kerber James W Head François Forget |
| |
Institution: | a Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, United States b Laboratoire de Météorologie Dynamique, CNRS/UPMC/IPSL, 4 place Jussieu, BP99, 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France c Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, United Kingdom |
| |
Abstract: | The Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) has long been thought to be of Amazonian age, but recent studies propose that a significant part of its emplacement occurred in the Hesperian and that many of the Amazonian ages represent modification (erosional and redepositional) ages. On the basis of the new formational age, we assess the hypothesis that explosive eruptions from Apollinaris Patera might have been the source of the Medusae Fossae Formation. In order to assess the likelihood of this hypothesis, we examine stratigraphic relationships between Apollinaris Patera and the MFF and analyze the relief of the MFF using topographic data. We predict the areal distribution of tephra erupted from Apollinaris Patera using a Mars Global Circulation Model (GCM) combined with a semi-analytical explosive eruption model for Mars, and compare this with the distribution of the MFF. We conclude that Apollinaris Patera could have been responsible for the emplacement of the Medusae Fossae Formation. |
| |
Keywords: | Volcanism Mars Geological processes Mars Surface Mars Atmosphere |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|