Using Ground Penetrating Radar to Constrain the Drainage Evolution in Southern Egypt and Implications for Future Deployment on Mars

Details Using Ground Penetrating Radar to Constrain the Drainage Evolution in Southern Egypt and Implications for Future Deployment on Mars Using Ground Penetrating Radar to Constrain the Drainage Evolution in Southern Egypt and Implications for Future Deployment on Mars

May 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004agusm.p53a..04g&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2004, abstract #P53A-04

Mathematics

Logic

1824 Geomorphology (1625), 5194 Instruments And Techniques, 5415 Erosion And Weathering, 5460 Physical Properties Of Materials, 5494 Instruments And Techniques

Scientific paper

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) constrains the origin of relict and largely buried fluvial channels in the Bir Kiseiba region of southern Egypt. GPR results indicate that the trunk channel to a tributary system identified in Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR) data is incised 10 to 12 meters into bedrock, was southwest-draining and laterally migrating toward the northwest, and accentuated relief along the nearby Kiseiba escarpment. Alluvium partially filling the main channel likely reflects effects of increasing aridity and bed load combined with less frequent, flashier precipitation. In contrast to defining channel margins, GPR data do not indicate subtle stratigraphic changes in bedding related to fluvial aggradation, but do highlight local reflections likely corresponding to relict alluvial bar forms. These GPR data complement the SIR and field data and permit a better understanding of the evolution of this enigmatic landscape. The Egyptian study area occurs in a region long considered to possess potential analogs for landforms on Mars. GPR results from Egypt and other analog terrain combined with consideration of factors influencing radar performance on Mars instill confidence that a rover-deployed GPR can achieve 10 to 20 m penetration and provide critical constraint on geologic setting and context for other rover instruments. To take advantage of this potential, a rover-deployable impulse GPR is under development for future Mars missions and possesses mass, volume, and power limits of 0.5 kg, 3400 cc, 3 W (peak), respectively. The GPR has no moving parts, includes a body conformal antenna capable of configuration at 150 MHz to more than 600 MHz, will collect 0.3 MB data per day (assuming a 50 meter traverse), and is being successfully tested in Mars analog environments. By analogy to the results from Egypt, a Mars GPR deployed in the vicinity of valley networks should be able to distinguish diagnostic signatures required for identifying the sources of water responsible for shaping the ancient Martian landscape. In addition, a Mars impulse GPR could assist in defining geologic setting and guide sample collection for in situ analyses or return to the Earth. GPR could also assist in detecting and avoiding rover hazards such dust-filled cracks or voids.

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