Other
Scientific paper
Dec 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufm.p22a..08h&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P22A-08
Other
5415 Erosion And Weathering, 5419 Hydrology And Fluvial Processes, 5462 Polar Regions, 6225 Mars
Scientific paper
Slope streaks on Mars are typically dark, extend downslope for up to ~2 km, are <200 m in width, show no detectable relief, and have been observed to form and change over less than decadal time periods. Mars slope streaks occur exclusively in regions of low thermal inertia, steep slopes, and only where peak temperatures exceed 275 K; changes are observed only if the interval includes the warm season. Mechanisms proposed for Mars slope streaks include dry dust avalanches, dust avalanches controlled by wind, wet debris flows, both wet and dry debris flows, and erosive fluvial processes from spring discharge, where melting is aided by hydrothermal activity or hypersaline aquifers. Although the ADV represent one of the most Mars-like terrestrial environments, there are also substantial differences (e.g., atmospheric pressure and composition; abundance of water, etc.) and thus analogs must be assessed cautiously. We investigated very similar slope streaks in upper Wright Valley of the Antarctic Dry Valleys and interpret their formation to be due to snowpack and near-surface melting-derived saline water traveling downslope along the top of the ice table, wicking upward, and dampening the surface to cause the streak. Among the observations of Mars streaks that suggest that this mechanism should be seriously considered are: 1) similarities in characteristics, brightness, scales, slopes, aspect ratio, temporal behavior, and modes of occurrence; 2) distribution and geometry of occurrence suggesting a relation to solar insolation (low latitudes and northernmost streaks occur preferentially on warmer south-facing slopes); 3) the observation that they occur only where peak temperatures exceed 275 K, and that changes occur only where there has been an intervening warm season, suggesting a potential role for the melting of surface snow and ice. We thus conclude that the saline-assisted surface-near surface melting and water migration origin of slope streaks interpreted from the ADV should be further assessed as a candidate mechanism for the origin of slope streaks on Mars. If this origin proves to be applicable to Mars, then the high frequency, continuity, and renewal of occurrence of these features in specific areas of Mars suggests an important role for liquid water and brines under current seasonal conditions.
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