Experimental Alluvial Fan Modeling Related to Large Alluvial Fans on Mars

Statistics – Applications

Scientific paper

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1825 Geomorphology: Fluvial (1625), 1847 Modeling, 1862 Sediment Transport (4558), 5419 Hydrology And Fluvial Processes, 6225 Mars

Scientific paper

A population of large alluvial fans has been discovered on Mars. They emanate from crater rims and deposit into crater basins. The build up of such alluvial fans requires a sustained source of flowing surface water. However, the amount of water may vary and that variation can be recorded in variations in fan surface morphology and slope. About half of the alluvial fans on Mars preserve a surface fluvial record (e.g.stream patterns, meanders, cut banks) and the majority have slopes measurable at Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) resolution. We are conducting experimental modeling of alluvial fan formation using the Eurotank at Utrecht University to understand the relative importance of sediment discharge and pre-existing basin slopes on alluvial fan morphology. The Eurotank Flume Facility contains a flume 5 by 8 meters. The water discharge, sediment discharge, basin structure, and particle size can all be varied. We conduct two experiments simultaneously; the resulting fans are deposited on two 2.5 by 5 meter prepared surfaces with constant slopes of ~0.035 and ~0.045, respectively. Sediment and water discharge are held constant. Results are recorded as a combination of surface images (from video recording of fluvial processes) and digital terrain models (DTM) at a resolution of ~80 microns from photogrammetry (stereo pairs) of the entire fan apron surface. The DTM and photographic results will be integrated with data from previous experiments of fan formation over lower sloping surfaces and the combined experiments will be compared to the Martian fan population. We will compare the experimental formation of surface fluvial features similar to those observed on Mars (e.g. stream patterns) with the goal of ascertaining the amount of fluid (i.e. debris flow vs. fluvial) required to form the Martian alluvial fans. Though we are currently focusing on Martian large alluvial fans, we anticipate that there will be broad applications to many of the fans discovered on Mars (i.e. delta fans and possible small debris flow fans) as well as terrestrial alluvial fan formation processes.

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