Use of Slopes of Small Martian Edifices to Discriminate Between Formation Mechanisms

Details Use of Slopes of Small Martian Edifices to Discriminate Between Formation Mechanisms Use of Slopes of Small Martian Edifices to Discriminate Between Formation Mechanisms

May 2001

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agusm...v42a10g&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract #V42A-10

Mathematics

Logic

5464 Remote Sensing, 5480 Volcanism (8450), 8450 Planetary Volcanism (5480)

Scientific paper

We have looked at Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) topographic profiles of several small Martian edifices (3 - 50 km in size) in a variety of volcanic regions from the mid-latitudes to the poles. Viking and Mars Observer Camera (MOC) images and recent MOLA gridded topography data reveal a wide range of small edifice geometries (e.g., Garvin et al., 2000; Won et al., 2001), and a larger number of edifices than previously detected (e.g., Sakimoto, et al., 2001). We have attempted to characterize the average slopes of these edifices using a variety of statistics. Because of the curvature of many of the slopes, simple unweighted and weighted averages are not adequate for characterization. However, most of the flanks can be well described by a parabolic regression (R squared values greater than 90%). As a starting point, we have used the 'slope' term from the parabolic regression for comparison between the various features. The parabolic regression has the form: elevation = a - b sqrt(distance), where the constant 'a' is a vertical offset and 'b' is analogous to the slope. The true instantaneous slope at any point on the flank is found by taking the derivative of the expression above and is necessarily a function of location on the flank. The following table contains values of 'b' for the South and North facing flanks of several volcanic features found in different geologic settings: Feature: (South) (North)\Polar moderate cratered cone (large crater) B1: (8.588) (7.46)\Polar steep cratered cone (small crater) B5: (9.90) (10.613)\Mid-latitude Tempe Terra shield TS1: (2.158) (1.964)\Mid-latitude Tempe Terra cone TC1: (4.934) (4.591) As can be seen from the table, the individual features are very consistent between their South and North facing flanks. There is also a clear distinction between B5, TS1 and TC1. The uncertainty (standard error) in the 'b' values given above is typically less than 1, suggesting the possibility of at least three separate feature types represented above. In addition to this simple comparison between parabolic slopes, we can also compare the actual shapes of the features. For example, the TS1 shield-type feature has less curvature than the others and may be better characterized by a linear fit. This also distinguishes it from the other features purely by the shape of its flanks. These comparisons allow us to quantitatively document the differences between the small Martian shield volcanoes as a feature class from their more explosive counterparts. Garvin, J.B., et al., Icarus, 145, 648-652, 2000. Wong, M.P., et al., LPSC XXXII, CDROM, abstract #1563, 2001. Sakimoto, S.E.H., et al., LPSC XXXII, CDROM, abstract #1808, 2001.

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