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Investigating basal geomorphology of Planum Boreum, Mars to understand past erosional processes and events

Investigating basal geomorphology of Planum Boreum, Mars
to understand past erosional processes and events

By:
Thomas Brothers
Graduate Student
University of Texas at Austin

When:

Friday, May 14, 2010, 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Join us for coffee beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Where:

Seminar Conference Room, 10100 Burnet Road, Bldg 196-ROC, Austin, Texas 78758

Host:

Sean Gulick, UTIG

LIVE BROADCAST

Abstract
The Basal Unit (BU) of Planum Boreum, Mars is a layered deposit of sand, dust and ice beneath the North Polar Layered Deposits (NPLD) [1-3]. Relative to the ice-rich, dust-poor NPLD, the BU is characterized by thicker layers and a higher sand content. Orbital radar sounding has provided a new tool to study the interior of Planum Boreum, and is used for this study of the BU. Subsurface mapping has unveiled regions of complex topographic expression in the BU including in the vicinities of significant geomorphic surface features such as Abalos Colles and Chasma Boreale, both associated,in prior work with hypothesized, recent ice-melt events [4-5]. These subsurface BU features are previously unmapped, or were poorly mapped, and predate deposition of the modern NPLD; furthermore, in these regions, the NPLD seems to mimic the subsurface morphology of the BU.

Immediately adjacent to the NPLD in regions of strong BU relief, one can find deposits of sediment with various morphologies, including fan-shaped deposits and aeolian dune patterns. I hypothesize that erosion of the BU led to its strong relief, and material lost from the BU is a source for these landforms. Quantitative geomorphology of the BU using radar mapping may allow for a better understanding of the style of erosion and processes leading to the observed deposits.

References:
[1] Malin M. C. and Edgett K. S. (2001) JGR, 106, 23429
[2] Phillips R. J. et al. (2008) Science, 320, 1182
[3] Byrne S. and Murray B. C. (2002) JGR, 107, 5044
[4] Fishbaugh K. E. and Head J. W. (2005) Icarus, 174, 444
[5] Hovius et al. (2008) Icarus, 197, 24



Thomas Brothers.