Feb 29, 2012 - Folie 17 > LS Workshop > E. Hauber. Comparison to Eberswalde delta. Eberswalde delta is Hesperian-aged (Mangold et al., Icarus, in review).
Sedimentary and possible volcanic materials in Xanthe Terra Ernst Hauber, Laetitia Le Deit DLR-Institute of Planetary Research NOTE ADDED BY JPL WEBMASTER: This content has not been approved or adopted by, NASA, JPL, or the California Institute of Technology. This document is being made available for information purposes only, and any views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of NASA, JPL, or the California Institute of Technology.
1st (Exo)Mars Landing Site Workshop; 29 February 2012
Regional context
Tharsis
Arabia
Previous work Old activity (3.8 to 4 Ga) Geologically shortshort-term activity Hauber et al., PSS (2009)
Examples of fans and deltas (I)
CTX P08_004264_1912
Folie 3 > LS Workshop > E. Hauber Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Example (I)
"stepped" delta cf Kraal et al. (2008)
CTX B21_017951_1955 Folie 4 > LS Workshop > E. Hauber Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Example (III) from Hauber et al. (2009)
MOC
MOC
Example (II)
CTX P20_008813_1911
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HiRISE PSP_008813_1915
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HiRISE PSP_008813_1915
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HiRISE PSP_008813_1915
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metermeter-sized boulders
~6 km
~16 cm
Proposed landing site Crater at terminus of Sabrina Vallis
HiRISE CRISM
-2620 m
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Slopes Derived over ~150 m baselength from HRSC DEM
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Eroded margins HiRISE
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(Sub)horizontal layering
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Opal in a nearby fan delta
Mineralogy
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Opal in a nearby fan delta Enhanced IR color R = 2.5 µm G = 1.5 µm B = 1.1 µm
Spectral parameter map R = 2.3-µm band depth (D2300; 0.001/0.006) G = 2.2-µm band depth (BD2200; 0.001/0.003) B = 1.9-µm band depth (BD1900R; 0.005/0.010)
N 3 km
3 km
N
Opal-rich light-toned material on the distal part of the fan delta
500 m HiRISE PSP_006941_1825
Probably authigenic material (Carter et al., LPSC, 2012)
Comparison to Eberswalde delta
A
B
Eberswalde delta is Hesperian-aged (Mangold et al., Icarus, in review) Folie 17 > LS Workshop > E. Hauber Wednesday, 29 February 2012
Absolute model ages Basis for crater counts: CTX images A - Delta surface
B - Crater floor
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Volcanism in a nearby filled crater (?) a
a Tuff cones?
b b
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dike?
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Proposed traverse
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Summary Morphology – variable sedimentary morphology: fans, (stepped) deltas – deposits in Xanthe Terra indicative of short term activity
Mineralogy – only one stepped delta with opaline silica – interpretation: in situ formation
Chronology – Much younger than Late Noachian/Early Hesperian! Trigger? Impacts (e.g., Eberswalde) Climate excursions (obliquity and orbital parameters) Volcanism
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Pros and cons Pros Sedimentary deposits Volcanic material (E2E iSAG) Safe landing
Cons
× ×
No mineral detections Young age
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