1. An ice-rich flow origin for the banded terrain in the Hellas basin, Mars
- Author
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Diot, X., Elmaarry, M. R., Guallini, L., Schlunegger, F., Norton, K. P., Thomas, N., Sutton, S., and Grindrod, P. M.
- Subjects
es ,cps ,550 Earth sciences & geology - Abstract
The interior of Hellas Basin displays a complex landscape and a variety of geomorphological domains. One of these domains, the enigmatic banded terrain covers much of the northwestern part of the basin. We use high-resolution (Context Camera and High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) Digital Terrain Models to show that most of the complex viscous flowing behavior exhibited by the banded terrain is controlled by topography and flow-like interactions between neighboring banded terrain. Furthermore, the interior of the basin hosts several landforms suggestive of the presence of near-surface ice, which include polygonal patterns with elongated pits, scalloped depressions, isolated mounds, and collapse structures. We suggest that thermal contraction cracking and sublimation of near-surface ice are responsible for the formation and the development of most of the ice-related landforms documented in Hellas. The relatively pristine form, lack of superposed craters, and strong association with the banded terrain, suggest an Amazonian (
- Published
- 2015