viscous flow features on the surface of mars observations from high resolution mars orbiter camera moc images 10 5 10 7 years of the material our shear stress estimates of 10 1 5 10 2 5 mpa yield strain rates on the order of 10 11 10 16 s 1 which are within the superplastic flow regime of ice mean annual surface temperatures age constraints and strain estimates show that it is possible for a meters thick ice dust mixture to undergo viscous deformation under past or present surface conditions for ice grain sizes 10 mm the meters thick layer in which the viscous flow features formed is morphologically similar to a degraded meters thick ice dust surface deposit dissected mantle terrain locations of the viscous flow features dissected mantle terrain and recent gullies are concentrated in the midlatitude regions and all three show identical distributions as a function of latitude with the maximum frequency of occurrence at 40 n and s the strong association between these small scale flow features and the dissected mantle terrain large scale viscous flow features and recent gullies imply that deposition deformation and removal of ice rich materials has played an important role in the modification of the surface in the midlatitudes of mars during the amazonian and possibly longer index terms 5470 planetology solid surface planets surface materials and properties 5416 planetology solid surface planets glaciation 1863 hydrology snow and ice 1827 1823 hydrology frozen ground 8168 tectonophysics stresses general keywords viscous flow viscous creep dissected mantle terrain ice rich deposits mars climate recent gullies

the topography and morphology of low shields and associated landforms of plains volcanism in the tharsis region of mars abstract the morphology and topography of volcanic landforms provide critical information to the investigation of their tectonic setting and the physical characteristics e g rheology of their eruption products their investigation is also an important prerequisite for studies of comparative planetology e g the comparison between surface features of the earth and other planetary bodies numerous small and low shield volcanoes on mars and associated vents and lava flows have previously been compared to terrestrial plains style volcanism which is defined as being an intermediate style between flood basalts and the hawai ian shields this study investigates the topography and morphology of martian landforms associated with plains volcanism using mola moc themis hrsc and hirise data low shields and other landforms of plains volcanism on mars display similarities with terrestrial basaltic volcanic fields and we do not observe any features that do not have morphologic analogues on earth the most typical landforms of martian plains style volcanism are low shields defined as volcanic shields with diameters of typically less than 50 km heights of a few hundred meters only and extremely shallow flank slopes of less than 0 5 other surface features related to plains style volcanism on mars are craters fissure vents cinder and spatter cones lava flows that are commonly associated with lava channels and tubes lava inflation features and volcanic rift zones our results reconfirm the viking orbiter based conclusion that plains volcanism in the eastern snake river plains is perhaps the best terrestrial morphological analogue for these martian surface features icelandic shields distinct structures in hawai i and other basaltic landforms also show similarities to martian plains volcanism sinuous rilles previously not described in association with plains volcanism on mars are interpreted as evidence for high eruption rates the extremely shallow flank slopes of the low shields suggest the eruption of shield building lavas with low viscosity which might be the result of high eruption temperatures high effusion rates a low si and a high mg content along with a possible high fe content or a combination of these factors the spatial distribution of low shield clusters in tharsis does not show any obvious association with large scale tectonic features plains volcanism might represent a relatively recent type of volcanism on mars which is not related to mantle plumes but to a zone of partial melting in an anomalously warm mantle underneath a thickened crust schumacher and breuer geophys res lett 34 l14202 doi 10 1029 2007gl030083 2007

planetary surface dating from crater size frequency distribution measurements partial resurfacing events and statistical age uncertainty abstract we describe the procedure to fit a cumulative production function polynomial to a partial crater size frequency distribution the technique is of particular use in deriving ages for surfaces which have undergone partial resurfacing events namely erosional or depositional events which have affected a limited diameter range of the crater population we demonstrate its use in obtaining times for both the surface formation and the resurfacing event we give a practical outline of the method for making age measurements from crater counts and how to identify resurfacing effects in the results we discuss the conversion of production function polynomials between common presentations and the statistical uncertainty of the determined ages with respect to the non linear chronology function and a minor refinement of data binning

steep sided domes on venus characteristics geologic setting and eruption conditions from magellan data a survey of more than 95 percent of the venus surface reveals 145 steep sided domes which can be subdivided into a variety of morphologic forms the most common being shaped like inverted bowls or flat topped domes results of a preliminary analysis of the distribution and geologic setting of the domes are presented the relation of the domes to analogous terrestrial features is examined and possible models for their mode of emplacement are outlined

endogenous growth of dacite dome at unzen volcano japan 1993 1994 a dacite dome at unzen volcano grew mainly exogenously when it was small and the effusion rate was high but endogenously when the dome became large and the effusion rate declined the endogenous dome that has grown since late 1993 shows a shape classified as pelean whereas the earlier stage had a low lava dome shape the carapace of the endogenous dome moved like the crust of a basaltic lava pillow although the dome is several hundred times larger than such pillows the surface carapace was carried from the inside of the dome where it had been produced and it thickened as it cooled the crater floor was strongly deformed by the advancing endogenous dome the movement and crater floor deformation can be compared to that of a tractor tread moving on unconsolidated ground

a global view of martian surface compositions from mgs tes thermal emission spectrometer tes data from the mars global surveyor mgs are used to determine compositions and distributions of martian low albedo regions two surface spectral signatures are identified from low albedo regions comparisons with spectra of terrestrial rock samples and deconvolution results indicate that the two compositions are a basaltic composition dominated by plagioclase feldspar and clinopyroxene and an andesitic composition dominated by plagioclase feldspar and volcanic glass the distribution of the two compositions is split roughly along the planetary dichotomy the basaltic composition is confined to older surfaces and the more silicic composition is concentrated in the younger northern plains

the martian surface as imaged sampled and analyzed by the viking landers the two viking landers touched down on the surface of mars in july and september of 1976 viking lander 1 renamed the mutch memorial station mms continued to operate for 3 martian years in chryse planitia the landing site is a rolling sparsely cratered plain impact crater size frequency distributions demonstrate that only meters of vertical erosion have occurred over the lifetime of the surface the site exhibits bedrock exposures numerous rocks excavated during cratering events indurated fine grained sediment blocky material mixed with dust and lithic fragments and aeolian drifts that overlie the blocky material and which probably accumulated during global dust storms lander 2 operated for approximately 2 martian years in utopia planitia a region subjected to volcanic impact aeolian and periglacial phenomena lander 2 is located west of the 100 km diameter crater mie on or near the distal end of the continuous ejecta deposits polygonal ground suggests that desiccation or freeze thaw processes have occurred the lander 2 site exhibits numerous rocks excavated from craters and exposed by erosion set in a matrix of crusty to cloddy sediment rare aeolian drifts overlie the crusty to cloddy material lander multispectral imaging of sediment exposures at both sites is best matched with iron rich claylike weathering products called palagonites the spectral characteristics are probably governed by thin deposits of dust from global and local dust storms darkest rocks have reflectance values that match iron rich igneous rocks although most rocks are covered with indurated coatings of the palagonitelike products chemical compositions of sediments at the two landing sites are strikingly similar suggesting an aeolian origin the compositions suggest an iron rich igneous source rock and are matched by an assemblage of clays and salts samples of blocky materials were found to have about 50 more cl and so3 than other samples implying cementation by salts the magnetic component in the sediment is silt sized or finer and may be maghemite or ultrafine grained hematite no indigenous organic compounds were found the materials were found to be highly reactive releasing o2 when h2o was added oxidizing organic nutrients on board the landers and fixing atmospheric co2 clay to silt sized particles were inferred for drift and crusty to cloddy materials no terrestrial samples have been found that replicate all the attributes of the viking samples approximately 10 m of h2o ice accumulated during both winters at lander 2 and each time evaporated over approximately 200 martian days thin layers of bright red dust from global and local dust storms accumulated at both sites during the first 2 martian years during the third winter strong winds generally scoured the mms site leaving behind a darker aeolian lag deposit bedrock at both sites formed billions of years ago and rocks have been generated and weathered slowly over geologic time but aeolian sediments accumulate become cemented and are subsequently eroded over time spans of millions of years or less the lifetime of the sedimentary deposits at the landing sites may be governed by the 105 to 106 year variations in climate due to quasi periodic changes in obliquity eccentricity and spin axis orientation

facies architecture of a silicic intrusion dominated volcanic centre at highway reward queensland australia abstract the highway reward massive sulphide deposit is hosted by a silicic volcanic succession in the cambro ordovician seventy mile range group northeastern australia three principal lithofacies associations have been identified in the host succession the volcanogenic sedimentary facies association the primary volcanic facies association and the resedimented syn eruptive facies association the volcanogenic sedimentary facies association comprises volcanic and non volcanic siltstone and sandstone turbidites that indicate submarine settings below storm wave base lithofacies of the primary volcanic facies association include coherent rhyolite rhyodacite and dacite and associated non stratified breccia facies autoclastic breccia and peperite the resedimented volcaniclastic facies association contains clasts that were initially formed and deposited by volcanic processes but then redeposited by mass flow processes resedimentation was more or less syn eruptive so that the deposits are essentially monomictic and clast shapes are unmodified this facies association includes monomictic rhyolitic to dacitic breccia resedimented autoclastic facies siltstone matrix rhyolitic to dacitic breccia resedimented intrusive hyaloclastite or resedimented peperite and graded lithic crystal pumice breccia and sandstone pumiceous and crystal rich turbidites the graded lithic crystal pumice breccia and sandstone facies is the submarine record of a volcanic centre s that is not preserved or is located outside the study area pumice shards and crystals are pyroclasts that reflect the importance of explosive magmatic and or phreatomagmatic eruptions and suggest that the source vents were in shallow water or subaerial settings the lithofacies associations at highway reward collectively define a submarine shallow intrusion dominated volcanic centre contact relationships and phenocryst populations indicate the presence of more than 13 distinct porphyritic units with a collective volume of 0 5 km 3 single porphyritic units vary from the size and shape of the lavas and intrusions reflect a restricted supply of magma during eruption intrusion the style of emplacement and the subaqueous emplacement environment due to rapid quenching and mixing with unconsolidated clastic facies the sills and cryptodomes did not spread far from their conduits the shape and distribution of the lavas and intrusions were further influenced by the positions of previously or concurrently emplaced units magma preferentially invaded the sediment avoiding the older units or conforming to their margins large intrusions and their dewatered envelope may have formed a barrier to the lateral progression and ascent of subsequent batches of magma

gravity wave interactions around the jet stream 1 vhf radar measurements have been applied to study the interaction between a mountain wave and an inertia gravity wave above the jet stream in the tropopause region the mountain wave was observed to break and generate turbulence at a critical level that was induced by the inertia gravity wave this indicates that wave wave interactions can be an important source of turbulence and consequently mixing in the tropopause region

identification of quartzofeldspathic materials on mars 1 a unique spectral component has been identified near and on the central peaks of two 30 km diameter craters in northern syrtis major these exposures are clearly visible in thermal emission imaging system themis color radiance images as well as themis and thermal emission spectrometer tes surface emissivity data both tes and themis data indicate the presence of increased 1050 1250 cm 1 8 9 5 m absorption compared to the surrounding basaltic plains and tes data also display other absorptions at 400 470 and 800 cm 1 25 20 and 12 m consistent with the presence of quartz ratio and isolated central peak spectral unit spectra match laboratory emissivity spectra of granitoid rocks composed primarily of quartz and plagioclase feldspar deconvolution results also indicate that the surface contains quartz and feldspar in addition to a high si glass and or sheet silicate component because central peak materials are brought up from depth during the cratering event the association of the quartzofeldspathic mineralogy with the central peaks of the craters indicates that the quartz bearing material was excavated from depth the occurrence in the two adjacent craters may imply a granitoid pluton of considerable extent a plausible formation mechanism for this relatively silicic material may be similar to that of terrestrial trondhjemites which do not require plate tectonics the rarity of the exposures implies that the process that formed the granitoid composition was probably not widespread the presence of quartz bearing material on mars indicates that mechanisms that produce highly differentiated magmas have been present and extends the diversity of surface compositions identified

evidence for komatiite type lavas on mars from phobos ism data and other observations data from the phobos 2 imaging spectrometer for mars ism compiled by mustard et al 1993 and other observations support the existence of komatiitic lavas on mars mustard et al 1993 determined from ism data that the composition of the low albedo materials covering the syrtis major plateau originally consisted of augite bearing basalt containing both augite and pigeonite with no appreciable amount of olivine this description is consistent with a komatiitic basalt komatiite is significant for the earth because it contains a high amount of mgo implying generation under unique circumstances compared to more typical basaltic compositions and may be similarly important for mars

subkilometer martian volcanoes properties and possible terrestrial analogs kilometer to subkilometer cones with large central craters are the most numerous volcanic structures in the northern plains of mars based on examination of more than 12 000 high resolution viking orbiter images most of these very small cones are located in parts of eastern acidalia and utopia isidis elysium planitia measurements of base and pit diameter for some 2000 well resolved features show small variations in the histogram of base diameters between and within regions but remarkable similarity in the distribution of crater cone diameter ratios this suggests that the small cones had a similar origin with only minor variations in local conditions the acidalia cones are generally larger more widely distributed and occur on a greater variety of terrains than those in utopia isidis elysium based on morphology distribution and the crater cone ratio histograms the smallest martian cones may be similar to icelandic pseudocraters somewhat larger steeper cones with smaller crater cone ratios which also occur in eastern acidalia may be analogs of terrestrial cinder cones

crease structures indicators of emplacement rates and surface stress regimes of lava flows crease structures are features commonly found on lava flow surfaces and consist of a fracture with curved walls that extend outward from a linear valley these crease structures are found on flows of nearly all compositions and crystallinities we have mapped the distributions of crease structures on many flows in the western united states and found that 1 axial length is not dependent upon composition and crystallinity 2 adjacent crease structures are generally aligned in an en echelon pattern 3 crease structures located adjacent to flow margins are generally perpendicular to these margins and 4 at mount st helens washington large lobe bisecting crease structures are found on lobes situated on slopes of less than 20 degrees a primary surface feature found on many crease structures is striations striations are sets of long stripes on the walls of the crease structure that extend approximately parallel to the axis of the central valley and they appear to be analogous to those found on the faces of cyclically fractured basalt columns observations of developing crease structures on 6 of the nearly 20 mount st helens dome lobes show that they form throughout the extrusion of flows situated on slopes of less than 20 degrees but only at the very beginning and or end of extrusion of flows on steeper slopes these observations imply that crease structures form when the lava flow is forced to spread laterally either as the flow advances over a flat area or as the down slope movement stagnates near the end of extrusion causing the rate of spreading to exceed the downslope rate of flow this lateral spreading of lava results in the concentration of tensile stress along a line oriented perpendicular to the direction of spreading the cooled crust of the extrusion is therefore torn apart about this line of tensile stress concentration forming a central valley that exposes hot ductile material from the flow interior to the atmosphere the presence of striations on many crease structure walls implies that the emplacement mechanism is similar to that suggested for columnar basalts where each striation is produced by incremental fracturing the stress responsible for crease structure formation is due to both cooling and lateral spreading of lava calculations show that stress due to spreading is three orders of magnitude higher than that due to cooling fracture advance times were calculated using a simple one dimensional conductive cooling model adjusted for the special geometry of the crease structure the model closely approximates measured crease structure emplacement times at mount st helens and gives reasonable estimates for crease structures found on older silicic lava flows we then used this model to calculate emplacement times of entire domes that consist of a single crease structure by dividing the dome volume by the formation time we are able to calculate extrusion rates for these older domes these values which include the first flow rate estimates reported for rhyolitic lavas 0 03 106 m 3 s similar to average flow rates of 0 7 40 m 3 s calculated for mount st helens dacite lobes from detailed topographic maps

searching for evidence of hydrothermal activity at apollinaris mons mars a multidisciplinary approach involving various remote sensing instruments is used to investigate apollinaris mons a prominent volcano on mars as well as the surrounding plains for signs of prolonged hydrologic and volcanic and possibly hydrothermal activity the main findings include 1 evidence from laser altimetry indicating the large thickness 1 5 2 km at some locations of the fan deposits draping the southern flank contrary to previous estimates coupled with possible layering which point to a significant emplacement phase at apollinaris mons 2 corroboration of robinson et al robinson m s mouginis mark p j zimbelman j r wu s s c ablin k k howington kraus a e 1993 icarus 104 301 323 hypothesis regarding the formation of incised valleys on the western flanks by density current erosion which would indicate magma water interaction or alternatively volatile rich magmas early in the volcano s history 3 mounds of diverse geometric shapes many of which display summit depressions and occur among faults and fractures possibly marking venting 4 strong indicators on the flanks of the volcano for lahar events and possibly a caldera lake 5 ubiquitous presence of impact craters displaying fluidized ejecta in both shield forming flank and caldera materials and materials that surround the volcano that are indicative of water rich target materials at the time of impact 6 long term complex association in time among shield forming materials and medusae fossae formation the findings point to a site of extensive volcanic and hydrologic activity with possibly a period of magma water interaction and hydrothermal activity finally we propose that the mound structures around apollinaris should be prime targets for further in situ exploration and search for possible exobiological signatures

coastal geomorphology of the martian northern plains the paper considers the question of the formation of the outflow channels and valley networks discovered on the martian northern plains during the mariner 9 mission parker and saunders 1987 and parker et al 1987 1989 data are used to describe key features common both in the lower reaches of the outflow channels and within and along the margins of the entire northern plains it is suggested that of the geological processes capable of producing similar morphologies on earth lacustrine or marine deposition and subsequent periglacial modification offer the simplest and most consistent explanation for the suit of features found on mars

sedimentology and climatic environment of alluvial fans in the martian saheki crater and a comparison with terrestrial fans in the atacama desert abstract the deflated surfaces of the alluvial fans in saheki crater reveal the most detailed record of fan stratigraphy and evolution found to date on mars during deposition of at least the uppermost 100 m of fan deposits discharges from the source basin consisted of channelized flows transporting sediment which we infer to be primarily sand and gravel sized as bedload coupled with extensive overbank mud rich flows depositing planar beds of sand sized or finer sediment flow events are inferred to have been of modest magnitude probably less than 60 m3 s of short duration and probably occupied only a few distributaries during any individual flow event occasional channel avulsions resulted in the distribution of sediment across the entire fan a comparison with fine grained alluvial fans in chile s atacama desert provides insights into the processes responsible for constructing the saheki crater fans sediment is deposited by channelized flows transporting sand through boulder sized material and overbank mudflows sand size and finer and wind erosion leaves channels expressed in inverted topographic relief the most likely source of water was snowmelt released after annual or epochal accumulation of snow in the headwater source basin on the interior crater rim during the hesperian to amazonian periods we infer the saheki fans to have been constructed by many hundreds of separate flow events and accumulation of the necessary snow and release of meltwater may have required favorable orbital configurations or transient global warming

morphology and composition of the surface of mars mars odyssey themis results the thermal emission imaging system themis on mars odyssey has produced infrared to visible wavelength images of the martian surface that show lithologically distinct layers with variable thickness implying temporal changes in the processes or environments during or after their formation kilometer scale exposures of bedrock are observed elsewhere airfall dust completely mantles the surface over thousands of square kilometers mars has compositional variations at 100 meter scales for example an exposure of olivine rich basalt in the walls of ganges chasma thermally distinct ejecta facies occur around some craters with variations associated with crater age polar observations have identified temporal patches of water frost in the north polar cap no thermal signatures associated with endogenic heat sources have been identified

spectral evidence for weathered basalt as an alternative to andesite in the northern lowlands of mars mineral abundances derived from the analysis of remotely sensed thermal emission data from mars have been interpreted to indicate that the surface is composed of basalt surface type 1 and andesite surface type 2 1 the global distribution of these rock types is divided roughly along the planetary dichotomy which separates ancient heavily cratered crust in the southern hemisphere basalt from younger lowland plains in the north andesite 1 but the existence of such a large volume of andesite is difficult to reconcile with our present understanding of the geological evolution of mars here we reinterpret martian surface rock lithologies using mineral abundances from previous work1 and new mineralogies derived from a spectral end member set representing minerals common in unaltered and low temperature aqueously altered basalts our results continue to indicate the dominance of unaltered basalt in the southern highlands but reveal that the northern lowlands can be interpreted as weathered basalt as an alternative to andesite the coincidence between locations of such altered basalt and a suggested northern ocean basin implies that lowland plains material may be composed of basalts weathered under submarine conditions or weathered basaltic sediments transported into this depocentre

wrinkle ridges of arcadia planitia mars wrinkle ridges of arcadia planitia were examined to determine their morphology spatial distribution and the amount of crustal shortening and strain they accommodate ridges trend generally northward but their orientation and distribution are strongly controlled by the relief of the underlying knobby material ridges begin or end at inselbergs of older terrain and are associated with buried craters arcadia planitia ridges have an average width of 3425 m and accommodate an average folding shortening of 3 m and a faulting shortening of 55 m mean total shortening is 57 m three east west transects were constructed at 20 25 and 28 n to estimate regional shortening and strain average total shortening across the transects is about 900 m corresponding to a regional compressive strain of 0 06 the total shortening and compression across arcadia planitia are less than in lunae planum faults associated with the arcadia ridges are inferred to have a westward dip compared with an eastward dip for lunae planum ridges the generally levels of compression and symmetric orientation of the ridges suggest a regionally organized stress system differences in the shortening and strain between lunae planum and arcadia planitia may reflect the effects of local lithology or azimuthal variations in the stress field

identity and emplacement of domical structures in the western arcadia planitia mars 1 morphologic morphometric and thermophysical aspects of domical structures in a restricted part of the mars northern plains were characterized using mars odyssey and mars global surveyor data the majority of domical structures consist of relatively high thermal inertia subcircular to irregularly shaped core bodies surrounded by adjacent relatively low albedo low thermal inertia annuli and dispersed aureoles of apparently disaggregated material core profiles vary considerably from low to high aspect ratios elongate arms of material extend from the central summit regions in some of the structures core features include apparent blocky surface texture summit fissures and pits apparent summit and flank ruptures suggestive of eruption of material and concentric and straight summit ridges core heights range from 30 to 400 m mean 160 m diameters range from 620 to 3090 m mean 1550 m aspect ratios range from 0 02 to 0 36 mean 0 11 and volumes range from 0 1 to 1 8 km3 an additional morphologic type consists of subcircular domical mounds that are apparently covered by plains materials we propose that the majority of the structures are partially extrusive cryptodomes and lava domes whereas the mounds are entirely intrusive cryptodomes

deformation and seismic precursors to dome collapse and fountain collapse nuees ardentes at merapi volcano java indonesia 1994 1998 abstract following the eruption of january 1992 episodes of lava dome growth accompanied by generation of dome collapse nuees ardentes occurred in 1994 1998 in addition nuees ardentes were generated by fountain collapse in january 1997 and the 1998 events also suggest an explosive component significant tilt and seismic precursors on varying time scales preceded these events deformation about the summit has been detected by electronic tiltmeters since november 1992 with inflation corresponding generally to lava dome growth and deflation or decreased inflation corresponding to loss of dome mass strong short term days to weeks accelerations in tilt rate and seismicity occurred prior to the major nuees ardentes episodes apart from those of 22 november 1994 which were preceded by steadily increasing tilt for over 200 days but lacked short term precursors because of the combination of populated hazardous areas and the lack of an issued warning about 100 casualties occurred in 1994 in contrast the strong precursors in 1997 and 1998 provided advance warning to observatory scientists enabled the stepped raising of alert levels and aided hazard management as a result of these factors but also the fortunate fact that the large nuees ardentes did not quite descend into populated areas no casualties occurred the nuee ardente episode of 1994 is interpreted as purely due to gravitational collapse whereas those of 1997 and 1998 were influenced by gas pressurization of the lava dome

does crater saturation equilibrium occur in the solar system abstract similarity is found in crater densities on the most heavily cratered surfaces throughout the solar system this is hypothesized to result from a steady state saturation equilibrium being approached or achieved by cratering processes this hypothesis conflicts with some recent interpretations however it accounts for 1 a similarity in maximum relative crater density below certain theoretically predicted values on all heavily cratered surfaces 2 a leveling off at this same relative density among 100 m scale secondary craters in populations on lunar maria and other sparsely cratered lunar surfaces 3 the approximate uniformity of maximum relative densities on saturn satellites in spite of dramatic variations predicted from nonsaturation models assuming heliocentric impactors the lunar frontside upland crater population sometimes described as a well preserved production function useful for interpreting other planetary surfaces is found not to be a production function it was modified by intercrater plains formed at least partly by early upland basaltic lava flooding recently confirmed spectrophotometrically consistent with this counts in pure uplands those lacking intercrater plains match the proposed saturation equilibrium density variations among large d 64 km crater populations are found but these may involve several hypothesized mechanisms that rapidly obliterate large craters especially on icy surfaces recent models in which different populations of interplanetary bodies hit different planets need further appraisal

context camera investigation on board the mars reconnaissance orbiter 1 the context camera ctx on the mars reconnaissance orbiter mro is a facility instrument i e government furnished equipment operated by a science team not responsible for design and fabrication designed built and operated by malin space science systems and the mro mars color imager team marci ctx will 1 provide context images for data acquired by other mro instruments 2 observe features of interest to nasa s mars exploration program e g candidate landing sites and 3 conduct a scientific investigation led by the marci team of geologic geomorphic and meteorological processes on mars ctx consists of a digital electronics assembly a 350 mm f 3 25 schmidt type telescope of catadioptric optical design with a 5 7 field of view providing a 30 km wide swath from 290 km altitude and a 5000 element ccd with a band pass of 500 700 nm and 7 m pixels giving 6 m pixel spatial resolution from mro s nearly circular nearly polar mapping orbit raw data are transferred to the mro spacecraft flight computer for processing e g data compression before transmission to earth the ground data system and operations are based on 9 years of mars global surveyor mars orbiter camera on orbit experience ctx has been allocated 12 of the total mro data return or about 3 terabits for the nominal mission this data volume would cover 9 of mars at 6 m pixel but overlapping images for stereo mosaics and observation of changes and meteorological events will reduce this area ctx acquired its first instrument checkout images of mars on 24 march 2006

late alluvial fan formation in southern margaritifer terra mars 1 crater statistics indicate alluvial fans crater floor and fill mantling deposits within impact craters 50 km in diameter in southern margaritifer terra were likely emplaced during multiple epochs fans formed during the amazonian or near the amazonian hesperian boundary crater floor deposits are likely hesperian in age and most fill mantling deposits are amazonian the regional distribution of fans points to a late period of widespread water driven degradation two of the final candidate landing sites for the 2011 mars science laboratory mission would land on or near some of these fans which appear younger than previously considered

reconstruction of the tectonic volcanic and sedimentary setting of strongly deformed zn cu massive sulfide deposits at benambra victoria the wilga and currawong massive sulfide deposits at benambra are hosted by a strongly deformed upper silurian rhyolite dacite andesite basalt sediment succession dominated by silicic volcanics and sedimentary rocks this host succession developed in an ensialic back arc or intra arc basin of limited extensional origin on the active gondwana continental margin strong deformation is related to compressional and transcurrent crustal movements during closing of the depositional basin at the end of the silurian and to subsequent steep faulting the massive sulfide deposits are essentially synvolcanic because 1 they have the same three generations of tectonic structures and the same intensity of deformation as their host rocks suggesting that the ores predate the earliest compressional deformation 2 the ores are constrained to a late silurian age similar to their host rocks because both the host rocks and this earliest deformation are late silurian in age 3 there is a tight stratigraphic control on the location of the massive sulfides and 4 the stratigraphy depositional setting and alteration are similar to many other less deformed volcanic associated massive sulfide districts deformation and alteration inhibit detailed stratigraphic correlation and modify rock textures but do not destroy facies relationships which allow sedimentological and volcanological interpretation sedimentary facies associations indicate that mineralization occurred in the basin center after fault controlled subsidence from a mixed subaerial and subaqueous environment with active rhyolitic volcanism through a marine shelf environment with mixed limestone volcaniclastic sedimentation to a moderate to deep water environment with mudstone and turbidite sedimentation and rhyolitic to basaltic volcanism juvenile elastic and nonelastic volcanic rocks are closely associated subequal in volume and comprise 50 to 70 percent of the volcano sedimentary sequence evaluation of fragmentation and emplacement processes indicates that the juvenile volcaniclastics are mainly in situ resedimented and intrusive hyaloclastites rather than pyroelastics classification of primary contact relationships of the volcanics into passive slightly disruptive and highly disruptive types and the internal facies organization of the volcanic units indicate that the volcanics form extrusive domes extrusive tabular flows partially emergent cryptodomes and sills and entirely intrusive sills shallow sills and cryptodomes emplaced into wet subsea floor sediments are texturally similar to but more abundant than lavas in the environment of mineralization these shallow intrusions are distinguished by disruptive upper contacts including sediment veined and sediment matrix hyaloclastite their recognition is critical because the mineralized stratigraphic interval can only be correlated using volcanics and sediments emplaced on the sea floor based on extrusive units the massive sulfides occur within 100 m above the last major extrusive rhyolites and within 50 m below the first major basalt lava integrating the tectonic structural sedimentological and volcanological data shows that the massive sulfides formed in siltstone in the proximal near vent facies association of a low profile mainly nonexplosive moderate to deep water submarine volcano composed of turbiditic sediments interleaved with numerous rhyolitic to basaltic sills lavas and associated hyaloclastites the ores can be related in space and time to the advanced stage of extension and subsidence in a continental margin incipient rift when relatively deep marine conditions were attained generation of voluminous rhyolitic crustal melts waned and basaltic magma started to penetrate up deep extensional faults to the sea floor the spatial association of the last rhyolite extrusions the massive sulfides and the first basalt extrusions suggests that these rocks are genetically related and that all were fed via the same extensional fault system this setting of silicic volcanic associated massive sulfides at benambra provides a model for the many deposits related to mainly nonexplosive volcanism and an alternative to the recently popular submarine pyroclastic caldera model

subaqueous rhyolitic dome top tuff cones a model based on the devonian bunga beds southeastern australia and a modern analogue the relics of two late devonian subaqueous rhyolitic dome top tuff and pumice cone successions are preserved in the bunga beds outlier of the boyd volcanic complex southeastern australia these cone successions and other rhyolitic volcanics of the bunga beds are associated with turbidite and other deep water massflow sedimentary rocks the two cone successions have a generally similar stratigraphy at the base flow banded variably autobrecciated and quench fragmented rhyolite representing an intrusive to extrusive dome is overlain by rhyolitesediment breccia representing extrusion of the dome through the deep water sediment pile and resedimentation down its flanks in the northern cone succession an overlying succession of bedded pumiceous crystal rich to crystal poor tuffs represents the onset of pyroclastic activity and growth of a tuff cone an overyling debris flow deposit represents degradation of part of the cone the topmost unit a stratified pumice succession is thought to represent another cone building eruptive phase and is separated from the underlying strata by a major slide surface the southern cone succession contains less tuff and abundant pumice and is also terminated by a debris flow deposit indicating cone degradation a modern analogue for the inferred eruptive style and sequence is the 1953 1957 rhyolite eruption that formed the tuluman island lava tuff cone complex in the bismarck sea the eruptions were often cyclical consisting of an initial inferred submarine lava forming stage passing into a pumicecone forming stage in some cases a subaeriallava forming stage and a final stage following the cessation of volcanism during which the cones collapsed gravitationally or were destroyed by wave erosion using observations from both the tuluman island eruptions and the preserved stratigraphies of the devonian tuff cones a dynamic model is proposed for the formation of subaqueous rhyolitic dome top tuff and pumice cones

endogenous growth of a miocene submarine dacite cryptodome rebun island hokkaido japan momo iwa rebun island hokkaido japan is a dacite cryptodome 200 300 m across and 190 m high the dome is inferred to have intruded wet poorly consolidated sediment in a shallow marine environment the internal structure of the dome is concentric with a massive core banded rim and narrow brecciated border all of which are composed of compositionally uniform feldspar phyric dacite boundaries between each of the zones are distinct but gradational the massive core consists of homogeneous coherent unfractured dacite and is characterized by radial columnar joints 60 200 cm across the banded rim encircles the massive core and is 40 m wide it is characterized by large scale flow banding parallel to the dome surface the flow banding comprises alternating partly crystalline and more glassy bands 80 150 cm thick the outermost brecciated border is up to 80 cm thick and consists of in situ breccia and blocky peperite the in situ breccia comprises polyhedral dacite clasts 5 20 cm across and a cogenetic granular matrix the blocky peperite consists of polyhedral dacite clasts 0 5 2 cm across separated by the host sediment mudstone the internal structures of the dome suggest endogenous growth involving a continuous magma supply during a single intrusive phase and simple expansion from the interior although much larger the internal structures of momo iwa closely resemble those of lobes in subaqueous felsic lobe hyaloclastite lavas

evidence of ancient continental glaciation in the martian northern plains whorled ridges spaced about 2 6 km and forming lobate patterns with lobe widths of about 150 km occur at many locations in the northern plains of mars commonly in close association with sinuous troughs that contain medial ridges these landforms resemble moraines tunnel channels and eskers found in terrestrial glacial terrains such as the midcontinent of north america some martian landscapes may have formed by disintegration of continental glaciers that covered much of the northern plains into the early amazonian i e late in martian geologic history meltwater processes apparently were important in the collapse of these hypothesized ice sheets hence the glaciers apparently were wet based in part whereas striking similarities exist among areas of the northern plains and some glaciated pleistocene terrains on earth there are also important differences notably drumlin fields such as those in many glacial landscapes on earth are rare absent or not yet resolved in images of the martian northern plains another major difference is that postglacial fluvial and other water related modifications especially erosion of pleistocene terrains are substantial but similar modifications are not observed in the northern plains a virtually complete and sudden decline in the activity of liquid surface water following glaciation in the northern plains seems to be implied the climatic implications of the hypothesized martian glaciers and their decline are unclear we investigate two possibilities alternatively involving a relatively warm paleoclimate and the modern martian climate the hypothesized ice sheets in the basins within the northern plains generally at elevations lower than 1 km suggest a relationship of these frozen bodies of water with former regional lakes or seas which may have formed in response to huge discharges of water from martian outflow channels this possible relationship has been modeled glaciers may have evolved from seas by their progressive freezing and then grounding and sublimational redistribution of sea ice the transition to glaciation may have taken several million years if the climate was very cold comparable to today s or tens of thousands of years if the climate was as warm as modern antarctica a glacierized sea may have involved an extended period of glaciolacustrine and ice shelf processes

the arabian continental alkali basalt province part ii evolution of harrats khaybar ithnayn and kura kingdom of saudi arabia three coalesced basaltic lava fields harrats khaybar ithnayn and kura constitute the largest contiguous area of cenozoic basalt in saudi arabia similar in extent 20 564 km2 and volume 1 850 km3 to harrat rahat which is situated only 25 km to the south harrat kura with an age range from about 11 to 5 ma is the oldest of these harrats it contains a single stratigraphic unit the kura basalt primarily composed of alkali olivine basalt aob with subordinant basanite and hawaiite and a single cluster of four phonolite domes in contrast harrats khaybar 5 ma to present and ithnayn 3 ma to present are composed of more mildly alkaline basalt types the two oldest units on harrat khaybar the jarad and mukrash basalts are dominated by dictytaxitic to ophitic olivine transitional basalt otb flows which were extruded primarily from major arterial lava tubes to form unusual morphological features here designated whaleback lava flows the lava tubes emanate from a 50 km long north trending fault scarp along the western edge of the central vent zone which marks the site of voluminous outwelling of otb lava the fault scarp ceased to be a major site of extrusion at the end of mukrash time immediately to the east of the fault scarp a thin 0 7 to 1 0 km uptilted slab of crust formed the roof of a high level magma chamber 60 x 25 km that dominated the eruptive history of the abyad basalt the youngest stratigraphic unit on harrat khaybar the abyad basalt occurs as seven stratigraphic subunits the two youngest of which qb6 and qb7 are post neolithic and historical in age in contrast to the jarad and mukrash basalts the abyad basalt is dominated by aob and hawaiite with only minor otb no abyad differentiated rocks occur on harrat ithnayn however fractional crystallization in the high level magma chamber beneath harrat khaybar has resulted in an extreme compositional range of rock types from mugearite to benmoreite trachyte and comendite the vent distribution at harrat khaybar shows a distinct zonation indicative of a high level compositionally stratified magma chamber whole rock chemistry suggests that even the most primitive basalts are not primary magmas but rather fractionated melts derived from primary magmas of variable melt fractions generated at differing mantle depths the more undersaturated harrat kura basalts were derived from primary magmas representing the smallest degrees of partial melting at the greatest depth crystal fractionation of most primary magmas appears to have taken place in reservoirs at the crust mantle boundary chemical and petrographic data suggest that open system magma recharge was an important process in the high level magma chamber beneath harrat khaybar the chemical and mineralogical heterogeneity of the harrat khaybar comendites their sr isotope values and their zr nb ratios all indicate that they were derived by varying degrees of crystal fractionation 95 crustal melting and halogen complexing the north trending volcanic axes of harrats rahat khaybar and ithnayn form a single 600 km long linear vent system designated the makkah madinah nafud mmn volcanic line the three transitional to mildly alkaline harrats extruded from this volcanic line differ from most arabian harrats which like harrat kura to the west are significantly more undersaturated the relatively large degrees of partial melting evident in harrats rahat khaybar and ithnayn suggest that the mmn volcanic line may overlie a north south thermal lineation in the mantle the petrochemical stratigraphic sequence in these three harrats is nearly identical early voluminous extrusions of otb were followed by later less extensive extrusions of minor otb and abundant aob hawaiite and differentiated lavas as this petrochemical stratigraphy evolved it progressed northward along the mmn trend with time beginning on harrat rahat about 10 ma on harrat khaybar about 5 ma and on harrat ithnayn about 3 ma the interplay of open system magmatic processes beneath this migrating volcanic line has resulted in a classic example of a strongly fractionated mildly alkaline basalt series

internal structure and emplacement of an upper pliocene dacite cryptodome milos island greece the upper pliocene kalogeros cryptodome is exposed on the northeastern part of milos greece the dacite cryptodome is 800 1300 m across and at least 120 m high it is inferred to have intruded wet unconsolidated pumiceous sediments in a shallow marine environment the kalogeros cryptodome includes five facies the coherent dacite facies 80 vol consists of massive non vesicular dacite and is characterised by radial columnar joints 20 250 cm across the banded dacite facies 15 vol encircles the coherent core and is up to 40 m thick it comprises alternating bands 0 5 4 m thick of pale grey and black dacite the fractured dacite facies less than 1 vol forms an irregular zone 1 3 m thick at the outer margin of the cryptodome the outermost massive dacite breccia facies less than 2 vol consists of blocky to polyhedral dacite clasts 1 40 cm in diameter and is characterised by domains of jigsawfit and clast rotated breccia the stratified dacite breccia 2vol is clast to matrix supported monomictic poorly sorted and composed of dacite clasts up to several metres in diameter the facies association collectively records endogenous growth of a cryptodome that involved a continuous magma supply during a single intrusive phase and simple expansion inflation during emplacement the margins of the kalogeros cryptodome were quench fragmented forming an outer domain of intrusive hyaloclastite and intensely fractured dacite the near solid outer carapace insulated the hotter less viscous interior laminar shear accompanied inflation generating large scale flow banding around the outer part of the core once stagnant concentric isotherms were established within the cryptodome and controlled the orientation of columnar joints cryptodomes are characterised by a well developed internal concentric distribution of distinctive textural domains modest autoclastic breccia and the absence of redeposited autoclastic facies

hydrovolcanic tuff rings and cones as indicators for phreatomagmatic explosive eruptions on mars hydrovolcanism is a common natural phenomenon on earth and should be common on mars too since its surface shows widespread evidence for volcanism and near surface water we investigate fields of pitted cones in the nephentes amenthes region at the southernmargin of the ancient impact basin utopia which were previously interpreted as mud volcanoes the cone fields contain pitted and breached cones with associated outgoing flow like landforms based on stratigraphic relations we determined ahesperian or youngermodel age we test the hypothesis of a hydro volcanic origin based on a detailed morphological and morphometrical analysis and an analysis of the regional context an igneous volcanic origin of these cones as hydrovolcanic edifices produced by phreatomagmatic eruptions is plausible several lines of evidence suggest the existence of subsurface water ice the pitted cones display well developed wide central craters with floor elevations below the preeruptive surface their morphometry and the overall appearance are analogous to terrestrial tuff cones and tuff rings mounds that are also observed in the same region resemble terrestrial lava domes the hydrovolcanic interaction between ascending magma and subsurface water and or water ice may explain the formation of the pitted cones although other scenarios such as mud volcanism cannot be ruled out together with the mounds the cones might represent effusive and explosive edifices of amonogenetic volcanic field composed of lava domes tuff rings tuff cones and possibly maars

the origin and evolution of the peace vallis fan system that drains to the curiosity landing area gale crater mars the landing site for the curiosity rover is located at the distal end of the peace vallis fan in gale crater peace vallis fan covers 80 km2 and is fed by a 730 km2 catchment which drains an upland plains area through a 15 km wide gap in the crater rim valley incision into accumulated debris delivered sediment through a relatively low density valley network to a main stem channel to the fan an estimated total fan volume of 0 9 km3 matches the calculated volume of removal due to valley incision 0 8 km3 and indicates a mean thickness of 9 m the fan profile is weakly concave up with a mean slope of 1 5 for the lower portion numerous inverted channels outcrop on the western surface of the fan but on the eastern portion such channels are rare suggesting a change in process from distributary channel domination on the west to sheet flow on the eastern portion of the fan runoff discharge watershed area to produce the fan is estimated to be more than 600 m perhaps as much as 6000 m indicating a hydrologic cycle that likely lasted at least thousands of years atmospheric precipitation possibly snow not seepage produced the runoff based on topographic data peace vallis fan likely onlapped bradbury rise and spilled into a topographic low to the east of the rise this argues that the light toned fractured terrain within this topographic low corresponds to the distal deposits of peace vallis fan and in such a setting lacustrine deposits are expected

absence of silicic volcanism on mars implications for crustal composition and volatile abundance on earth eruptions of silicic magmas with volumes of 1 100 km3 are generally associated with stratovolcanoes or composite cones whereas larger 100 1000 km3 ignimbrite deposits are erupted from resurgent calderas and related structures small volumes of silicic rocks are generated by differentiation within basic magma chambers associated with stratovolcanoes but large silicic deposits are largely confined to areas where the granitic crust is thicker than 25 km as mantle derived magmas rise through the thick granitic crust fractional crystallization and assimilation of hydrous crustal rocks concentrate volatiles and sio2 in the magma yielding explosive silicic eruptions on mars under similar chemical conditions ignimbrite eruptions could take place over a broader range of physical conditions than on earth but no large volume ignimbrite deposits can be identified positively explosive basic to ultrabasic eruptions may be responsible for small cinder conelike features on mars and perhaps for the ancient flank scoured paterae such eruptions may have been driven by near surface water ice magma interactions or volatile rich magmas the paterae represent a unique style of volcanism that stopped 2 b y ago we suggest that the volatiles associated with these features were derived from mantle sources and that the cessation of patera formation may coincide with the termination of the period of maximum planetary degassing volcanism since 2 b y ago has been dominantly effusive except for minor explosive ash events such as those which blanketed part of the summit of hecates tholus we propose that such eruptions were driven by volatiles generated by differentiation of a magma chamber similar to icelandic explosive eruptions the apparent lack of large scale silicic volcanism on mars is circumstantial evidence that mars is deficient in volatiles and lacks a granitic crust

a habitable fluvio lacustrine environment at yellowknife bay gale crater mars the curiosity rover discovered fine grained sedimentary rocks which are inferred to represent an ancient lake and preserve evidence of an environment that would have been suited to support a martian biosphere founded on chemolithoautotrophy this aqueous environment was characterized by neutral ph low salinity and variable redox states of both iron and sulfur species carbon hydrogen oxygen sulfur nitrogen and phosphorus were measured directly as key biogenic elements by inference phosphorus is assumed to have been available the environment probably had a minimum duration of hundreds to tens of thousands of years these results highlight the biological viability of fluvial lacustrine environments in the post noachian history of mars

the timing of alluvial activity in gale crater mars the curiosity rover s discovery of rocks preserving evidence of past habitable conditions in gale crater highlights the importance of constraining the timing of responsible depositional settings to understand the astrobiological implications for mars crater statistics and mapping reveal the bulk of the alluvial deposits in gale including those interrogated by curiosity were likely emplaced during the hesperian thereby implying that habitable conditions persisted after the noachian crater counting data sets and upper peace vallis fan morphology also suggest a possible younger period of fluvial activation that deposited 10 20 m of sediments on the upper fan after emplacement of the main body of the fan if validated water associated with later alluvial activity may have contributed to secondary diagenetic features in yellowknife bay

saginaw lobe tunnel channels laurentide ice sheet and their significance in south central michigan usa abstract a network of tunnel channels in southern michigan records substantial subglacial meltwater activity beneath the saginaw lobe of the laurentide ice sheet the channels are incompletely filled with outwash contain eskers and in many places crosscut and continue beyond upland ridges previously mapped as recessional moraines the presence of the tunnel channels and drumlins on these upland ridges indicate that the ridges are not recessional moraines instead outwash fans and minor ridges record deglaciation in the area a palimpsest relationship between buried bedrock valleys and tunnel channels records the presence of multiple generations of tunnel channels evidence for a subglacial meltwater sheetflow consists of sheets of boulder gravel in upland 15 km wide with a hummocky upper surface the hummocks transform down flow into erosional remnant drumlins possibly the result of flow acceleration on a negative slope tunnel channels at the distal end of the drumlin swarm suggest collapse of the sheetflow into a channelized flow the tunnel channels then end at the sturgis moraine at the heads of large outwash fans the observed geomorphic relationships between tunnel channels moraines and drumlins in south central michigan are applicable to glacial landform studies elsewhere and indicate the important role of meltwater in landscape evolution

analysis of terrestrial and martian volcanic compositions using thermal emission spectroscopy 2 application to martian surface spectra from the mars global surveyor thermal emission spectrometer atmospherically corrected thermal infrared spectra of large regions of the martian surface from the mars global surveyor thermal emission spectrometer mgs tes previously have been interpreted to represent two general spectral classes one class represents a basalt to basaltic andesite composition and the other class represents a basaltic andesite to andesite composition we have performed new linear deconvolutions of the two martian surface type spectra with an end member set tailored to represent volcanic rock types our preparatory study of laboratory spectra of terrestrial volcanic rocks acquired at 2 cm 21 sampling convolved to tes spectral sampling 10 cm 21 shows little degradation in deconvolution results when compared to results acquired using the higher spectral resolution data indicating that the deconvolution technique is valid for analyzing data at tes resolution our spectral fits to the martian data agree well with previous models and do not exhibit any notable deviations from the martian spectra that would indicate the absence of any significant end members in our model modal mineralogies obtained with these new spectral fits also compare favorably within the previously stated uncertainties to prior results the newly derived modal mineralogies are used with new and traditional classification schemes for volcanic igneous rocks introduced in a companion paper wyatt et al this issue to classify the martian compositions our results substantiate the previously proposed hypothesis that these two spectral classes on the martian surface represent volcanic compositions with distinguishable differences in silica content ranging from basalt to andesite

martian cratering 8 isochron refinement and the chronology of mars abstract this paper reviews and refines the technique of dating martian surfaces by using impact crater isochrons defined as size distributions of impact craters on undisturbed martian surfaces of specified ages in the 1970s this system identified not only abundant ancient martian volcanic surfaces but also extensive lava plains with ages of a few 108 y old this dating was initially controversial but confirmed in the 1980s and 90s by martian meteorites the present update utilizes updated estimates of the mars moon cratering ratio the most important calibration factor improves treatment of gravity and impact velocity scaling effects combines aspects of the crater size distribution data from earlier work by both neukum and hartmann and for the first time applies a correction for loss of small meteoroids in the martian atmosphere from popova et al 2003 meteorit planet sci 38 905 925 the updated isochrons are not radically different from the previous 2002 iteration but fit observed data better and give somewhat older model ages for features dated from small craters diameter d 100 m crater counts from young lava flows in various areas give good fits to the new isochrons over as much as 3 orders of magnitude in d confirming the general isochron shape and giving crater retention ages in the range of some 106 to some 108 y interpreted as lava flow ages more complex older units are also discussed uncertainties are greatest if only small craters d 100 m are used suggestions by other workers of gross uncertainties due to local secondary craters and deposition exhumation are discussed they do not refute our conclusions of significant volcanic fluvial and other geologic activity in the last few percent of martian geologic time or the importance of cratering as a tool for studying processes such as exhumation indeed crater count data suggest certain very recent episodes of deposition exhumation and ice flow possibly associated with obliquity cycles of 10 7 y timescale evidence from ancient surfaces suggests higher rates of volcanism fluvial activity glaciation and other processes in noachian hesperian time than in amazonian time

spectral evidence of volcanic cryptodomes on the northern plains of mars abstract the composition and detailed morphology of dome shaped features located in western arcadia planitia and just west of utopia planitia were examined in this study utilizing data from mars reconnaissance orbiter and mars odyssey sensors the domes have diameters averaging 1 5 km and heights averaging 160 m and are generally dark toned although some are lighter toned or have split dark and light toned surfaces the domes are surrounded by annular deposits comprising with increasing distance from the domes dark toned aprons light toned aureoles and dark toned aureoles compact reconnaissance imaging spectrometer for mars crism data over several areas in the western arcadia region show that spectra from the flanks of several domes have 1 and 2 m absorption features consistent with the presence of olivine and a high ca pyroxene nominally augite modified gaussian model mgm analysis of these spectra indicates fe rich olivine compositions the tops of domes and the aprons surrounding many domes have negative sloping flat spectra in the near infrared which is consistent with tachylite rich glassy compositions high resolution imaging science experiment hirise images over several domes indicate that relatively high thermal inertia values associated with the tops of domes can be attributed to boulder strewn surfaces hirise images also reveal that light toned aureoles around domes consist of crenulated ground resembling brain terrain textures previously described for ice rich concentric crater fill elsewhere on the northern plains the plains surrounding the domes also display lineations that are interpreted to be lava channels or tubes the combination of volcanic and ice related features are consistent with the domes having formed as cryptodomes in the near sub surface we suggest that the domes could be basaltic in composition if the magmas were degassed and or highly crystallized and thus more viscous than typical basaltic magmas the intrusion of these magmas into an ice rich horizon would have produced a pervasively jointed chilled margin on the domes which once the domes were exposed would have mechanically weathered to form the dark aprons the domes could have served as local centers for ice accumulation during periods of high orbital obliquity which ultimately would have led to the formation of the brain terrain surrounding the features the domes represent late stage volcanic products on the northern plains of mars and associated features provide more evidence for the role that ice accumulation and modification has played in recent martian history

dike emplacement on venus and on earth many long linear troughs are visible in synthetic aperture radar images of the surface of venus their geometry closely resembles that of dike swarms on earth such troughs will be formed if dikes fail to reach the surface or if the magma in them is partially drained dikes that form closed ellipses in plan view can be produced by intrusions near a depression and intersecting dikes can result if the stress field changes with time because of the absence of erosion and sedimentation all these effects are better displayed on venus than they are on earth the magnitude of the regional stress on venus can be estimated from the dike patterns to be about 3 mpa or similar to that of earth dikes consisting of en echelon segments whose total length is 1500 km or more occur on both earth and venus on earth their widths are generally greater than 30 m and are sometimes as great as 250 m and they are likely to be similar on venus the melt velocity during their emplacement is predicted to be a few meters per second and the calculated rate of heat loss is sufficiently slow that they can remain molten as they propagate for distances of more than 1000 km the same calculations apply to sills though less is known about their geometry the results therefore suggest that magma intrusion in thin sheets extending over 1000 km or more could produce regional crustal thickening and uplift on both earth and venus

block size distributions on silicic lava flow surfaces implications for emplacement conditions we determined block size distributions on the surfaces of holocene silicic lava flows at the inyo domes and the medicine lake volcano and studied the development of blocks on the active mount st helens and mount unzen lava domes to better understand the emplacement history of young viscous flows we measured block chord lengths along perpendicular 25 m long transects within vent jumbled and ridged morphologic units vent regions generally contain the largest average block sizes and largest range of average blocks whereas ridged areas tend to have the smallest average blocks observations at the active mount st helens and mount unzen lava domes show that block size distributions reflect stress conditions during flow high extrusion rates produce small primary blocks and lead to rapid fracturing of the flow surface whereas low extrusion rates allow large slabs to form in the vent area and lead to less severe fragmentation a dramatic increase in the size of blocks evident in active vent regions may indicate a significant decrease in eruption rate and thus could signal the cessation of extrusion however if the extrusion rate is too high or the cooling rate too low a rigid crust and accompanying blocks will not form on an eruptive time scale blocks may fracture through mechanical and thermal processes as they move downslope most silicic lava flows reach a steady state downslope where the average block size at the surface remains in the 20 30 cm size range with increasing distance from the vent fines blocks 12 cm do not accumulate on the flow surface because they slip toward the flow interior through void spaces between surface blocks we therefore expect long silicic lava flows to have blocky surfaces throughout their lengths an important consideration for evaluation of planetary lava flow emplacement

magmatic intrusions and deglaciation at mid latitude in the northern plains of mars abstract on earth igneous rocks are generally affected by magmatic differentiation and the volume of intrusive bodies is considered to be 5 10 times larger than the volume of volcanic rocks in contrast in the case of mars the occurrence of olivine phyric basalts at gusev crater mcsween h y 2006 j geophys res planets 111 e10 e02s10 the primitive nature of at least four picritic shergottites grott m 2013 planet space sci 174 49 111 and the chemical composition of major volcanic provinces baratoux d toplis m j monnereau m gasnault o 2011 nature 472 338 341 suggest that primary melts of the mantle may have commonly reached the surface these observations together with sparse morphologic evidence of intrusions in comparison with other terrestrial planets raise the issue of the conditions for the formation and occurrence of sub surface zones of magma storage on mars in this respect a series of two types of young amazonian domes located at mid latitudes in western arcadia planitia east of phlegra montes previously interpreted as surface expressions of intrusive bodies farrand w h lane m d edwards b r yingst r a 2011 icarus 211 139 156 are examined here a fraction of the domes consist of upraised plain material whereas others distinguished by a massive core and a large aspect ratio could be partially exhumed intrusions or extrusions of viscous differentiated magma the latter interpretation is however not compatible with the mafic compositions inferred from orbital visible and near infrared spectroscopic observations the thicknesses and radii of both types of domes appear to be related through a power law relationship with exponents close to 1 or 5 4 these exponent values are not compatible with extrusive morphologies but are characteristic of intrusions magma below an elastic layer michaut c 2011 j geophys res 10 1029 2010jb008108 we conclude that all types of domes are intrusive bodies the large aspect ratios of some of these features may be reconciled with a mafic composition and a shallow emplacement a few hundred meters as well as a relatively large injection rate magma emplacement below an ice rich horizon that was subsequently removed offers a plausible scenario for their partial exhumation this scenario is supported by independent signs of ice removal and deflation events in the northern plains the formation of these intrusions appear therefore to be related to an unusual context of magma ascent below a thick and low density ice rich horizon

martian fluvial conglomerates at gale crater observations by the mars science laboratory mast camera mastcam in gale crater reveal isolated outcrops of cemented pebbles 2 to 40 millimeters in diameter and sand grains with textures typical of fluvial sedimentary conglomerates rounded pebbles in the conglomerates indicate substantial fluvial abrasion chemcam emission spectra at one outcrop show a predominantly feldspathic composition consistent with minimal aqueous alteration of sediments sediment was mobilized in ancient water flows that likely exceeded the threshold conditions depth 0 03 to 0 9 meter average velocity 0 20 to 0 75 meter per second required to transport the pebbles climate conditions at the time sediment was transported must have differed substantially from the cold hyper arid modern environment to permit aqueous flows across several kilometers

an exceptional case of endogenous lava dome growth spawning pyroclastic avalanches the 1999 bocca nuova eruption of mt etna italy abstract during an eruption at the bocca nuova one of the summit craters of mt etna in october november 1999 a part of the crater floor near its wnw rim was uplifted to form a dome shaped feature that consisted of older lava and pyroclastics filling the crater this endogenous dome grew rapidly over the crater rim thus being perched precariously over the steep outer slope of the bocca nuova and near continuous collapse of its steep flanks generated swiftly moving pyroclastic avalanches over a period of several hours these avalanches advanced at speeds of 10 20 m s and extended up to 0 7 km from their source on top of lavas emplaced immediately before their deposits were subsequently covered by lava flows that issued from vents below the front of the dome and from the bocca nuova itself growth of the dome was caused by the vertical intrusion of magma in the marginal western part of the crater which deformed and uplifted previously emplaced still hot and plastically deformable eruptive products filling the crater the resulting avalanches had all the characteristics of pyroclastic flows spawned by collapse of unstable flanks of lava domes but in this case the magma involved was of mafic hawaiitic composition and would under normal circumstances have produced fluid lava flows the formation of the dome and the generation of the pyroclastic avalanches owe their occurrence to the rheological properties of the eruptive products filling the crater which were transformed into the dome and to the morphological configuration of the bocca nuova and its surroundings the density contrast between successive erupted products may also have played a role although events of this type are to be considered exceptional at etna their recurrence might represent a serious hazard to visitors to the summit area

deposits associated with the 1990 1995 eruption of unzen volcano japan abstract the 1990 1995 eruption of unzen volcano in japan was characterized by lava dome growth and block and ash flows triggered by dome collapse the repeated dome collapse events produced block and ash flow ash cloud surge and fine grained ash fall deposits block and ash flow deposits which are confined to valleys are massive to reversely graded very poorly sorted and contain non vesiculated to poorly vesiculated blocks up to 10 m across the deposits often display finer grained basal parts coarse clast depleted flow units which have intermediate grain size distribution between main flow and surge deposits occur as marginal part of block and ash flow deposits ash cloud surge deposits which spread more widely are finer grained and better sorted than block and ash flow deposits ash fall deposits which were derived from ash clouds of block and ash flows and were dispersed around the volcano are very fine grained and are as well sorted as the surge deposits lahars resulting from remobilization of pyroclastic debris devastated the base of the volcano and their deposits are moderately fines depleted and occasionally display two different lahar facies debris flow and hyperconcentrated flow units

compressional structures on mars abstract wrinkle ridges accommodate very low amounts of shortening strain around immense volcanic constructs and within impact basins on mars they originate from stresses distributed uniformly throughout the brittle lithosphere and are consistently located in stratified deposits including lava flows and sediment most recent models interpret wrinkle ridges as the surface manifestation of folding above underlying blind thrusts that accommodate similarly low strain and likely penetrate tens of kilometers into the brittle crust alternative models suggest shortening accommodated by some wrinkle ridges is confined to only the upper few kilometers of the crust the interpretation of the geometry of blind thrusts on mars appears to be quite varied and remains controversial although some models suggest they may ultimately flatten into the brittle ductile transition in the middle to lower crust small scale crenulations superposed on ridges are interpreted as produced by high level back thrusts nucleating at

resurfacing history of the northern plains of mars based on geologic mapping of mars global surveyor data 1 geologic mapping of the northern plains of mars based on mars orbiter laser altimeter topography and viking and mars orbiter camera images reveals new insights into geologic processes and events in this region during the hesperian and amazonian periods we propose four successive stages of lowland resurfacing likely related to the activity of near surface volatiles commencing at the highland lowland boundary hlb and progressing to lower topographic levels as follows highest elevations indicated stage 1 upper boundary plains early hesperian 2 0 to 2 9 km stage 2 lower boundary plains and outflow channel dissection late hesperian 2 7 to 4 0 km stage 3 vastitas borealis formation vbf surface late hesperian to early amazonian 3 1 to 4 1 km and stage 4 local chaos zones early amazonian 3 8 to 5 0 km at acidalia mensa stage 2 and 3 levels may be lower 4 4 and 4 8 km respectively contractional ridges form the dominant structure in the plains and developed from near the end of the early hesperian to the early amazonian geomorphic evidence for a northern plains filling ocean during stage 2 is absent because one did not form or its evidence was destroyed by stage 3 resurfacing remnants of possible amazonian dust mantles occur on top of the vbf the north polar layered deposits appear to be made up of an up to kilometer thick lower sequence of sandy layers early to middle amazonian in age overlain by late amazonian ice rich dust layers both units appear to have outliers suggesting that they once were more extensive

evidence for recent climate change on mars from the identification of youthful near surface ground ice ground ice in the crust and soil may be one of the largest reservoirs of water on mars1 2 3 near surface ground ice is predicted to be stable at latitudes higher than 40 ref 4 where a number of geomorphologic features indicative of viscous creep and hence ground ice have been observed5 mid latitude soils have also been implicated as a water ice reservoir6 the capacity of which is predicted to vary on a 100 000 year timescale owing to orbitally driven variations in climate7 it is uncertain however whether near surface ground ice currently exists at these latitudes and how it is changing with time here we report observational evidence for a mid latitude reservoir of near surface water ice occupying the pore space of soils the thickness of the ice occupied soil reservoir 1 10 m and its distribution in the 30 to 60 latitude bands indicate a reservoir of 1 5 6 0 104 km3 equivalent to a global layer of water 10 40 cm thick we infer that the reservoir was created during the last phase of high orbital obliquity less than 100 000 years ago and is now being diminished

minimum effective area for high resolution crater counting of martian terrains the acquisition of high resolution imagery for the surface of mars has enabled mapping of spatially limited order of 200 m on four type terrains using mars reconnaissance orbiter mro context camera ctx imagery that span the noachian hesperian and amazonian epochs the counts from each location include a region covering 10 000 km2 ten 1000 km2 subsets of that larger area and approximately one hundred 100 km2 samples the data demonstrate significant variation in the crater size frequency and derived model ages across a single terrain type for the 100 km2 samples the crater size frequency at this area scale varies across a single uniform geologic unit by up to a factor of 2 3 on the four different terrains at 1000 km2 the local pattern variations that are relevant at the 100 km2 scale become less important and the age variations are tighter in all four terrain cases the 10 000 km2 and 1000 km2 samples capture distinct crater populations km sized craters that formed before and after resurfacing event s however due to the relatively high mean distance between km sized craters the 100 km2 size area samples more commonly than not exclude a statistically significant sample at the kilometer size range masking important information about the pre resurfacing history of the terrain we therefore suggest that due to the effect of pattern variability in cratering over 100 km2 and the susceptibility of smaller craters to resurfacing crater counts derived from small area samples are suspect to major uncertainties

mineralogy and fluvial history of the watersheds of gale knobel and sharp craters a regional context for the mars science laboratory curiosity s exploration a 500 km long network of valleys extends from herschel crater to gale knobel and sharp craters the mineralogy and timing of fluvial activity in these watersheds provide a regional framework for deciphering the origin of sediments of gale crater s mount sharp an exploration target for the curiosity rover olivine bearing bedrock is exposed throughout the region and its erosion contributed to widespread olivine bearing sand dunes fe mg phyllosilicates are found in both bedrock and sediments implying that materials deposited in gale crater may have inherited clay minerals transported from the watershed while some topographic lows of the sharp knobel watershed host chloride salts the only salts detected in the gale watershed are sulfates within mount sharp implying regional or temporal differences in water chemistry crater counts indicate progressively more spatially localized aqueous activity large scale valley network activity ceased by the early hesperian though later hesperian amazonian fluvial activity continued near gale and sharp craters

evidence for amazonian highly viscous lavas in the southern highlands on mars we have identified small scale volcanic edifices two cones and three domes with associated flows within terra sirenum a region situated in the martian southern highlands based on thermal morphological and morphometrical properties and the determination of absolute model ages we conclude that these features were formed by volcanic activity of viscous lavas in the mid amazonian epoch relatively recently in martian history if our hypothesis is correct this small volcanic field represents rare evidence of young volcanic activity in the martian highlands in which martian equivalents of terrestrial lava domes and coulees might be present on earth such landforms are usually formed by highly viscous evolved lavas i e andesitic to rhyolitic for which observational evidence is sparse on mars hence this field might be one of only a few where martian evolved lavas might be investigated in detail