Low elevation hydrogeological features in the McMurdo Dry Valleys as analogs to recent Mars

Details Low elevation hydrogeological features in the McMurdo Dry Valleys as analogs to recent Mars Low elevation hydrogeological features in the McMurdo Dry Valleys as analogs to recent Mars

Dec 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007agufm.p22a..07d&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2007, abstract #P22A-07

Other

5400 Planetary Sciences: Solid Surface Planets, 5419 Hydrology And Fluvial Processes

Scientific paper

Low elevation regions of the dry valleys in East Antarctica are often used as analogs for Mars at some time in the past when surface water was readily available. Numerous perennially ice covered lakes in particular have been touted as excellent examples of the last vestige of aquatic ecosystems on Mars during a planetary climatic deterioration [e.g. Doran, et al., 1998; Wharton, et al., 1995]. Recent climate on Mars though is too cold (and pressures too low) to support standing water at or near the surface. Yet features reminiscent of water flow, even in recent times, have been identified [Malin and Edgett, 2000; Malin, et al., 2006]. We discuss phenomena in the dry valleys which may provide clues to the nature and origin of the recent flow features on Mars. In this paper we will discuss two main phenomena: 1. Irregular spring flow derived from melting ground ice, snow patches, refrozen precipitation or buried glacier ice. Some of these seeps flow only during the warmest summers. The majority of the seeps observed flow directly out of the ground with no nearby glaciers to supply the water. Both solute chemistry and isotopic signatures are distinct from nearby streams an glaciers indicating that seep waters have been substantially modified if they originated from the same meteoric water. The geochemical data support a subsurface origin for these waters with a relatively long residence time. 2. Persistent saline groundwater discharge in a region which has permafrost to depths from 240 to 970 m [Decker and Bucker, 1977]. Don Juan Pond in Wright Valley is a CaCl-rich groundwater outcrop which is liquid year-round. Evidence of the existence of saline groundwater is also provided by flows into the bottom of Lake Vanda, and well measurements in Victoria Valley References Decker, E. R., and G. J. Bucker (1977), Geothermal studies in Antarctica, Antarc. J. US, XII, 102-104. Doran, P. T., et al. (1998), Antarctic paleolake sediments and the search for extinct life on Mars, Journal of Geophysical Research, 103, 28481-28493. Malin, M. C., and K. S. Edgett (2000), Evidence for recent groundwater seepage and surface runoff on Mars, Science, 288, 2330-2335. Malin, M. C., et al. (2006), Present-day impact cratering rate and contemporary gully activity on Mars, Science, 314, 1573-1577. Wharton, R. A., et al. (1995), Paleolakes on Mars, Journal of Paleolimnology, 13, 267-283.

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