Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agufm.p42a0560z&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2001, abstract #P42A-0560
Physics
1824 Geomorphology (1625), 5415 Erosion And Weathering, 5470 Surface Materials And Properties, 5480 Volcanism (8450)
Scientific paper
Massive deposits of the Medusae Fossae Formation (MFF) in the Elysium-Amazonis region of Mars (12S to 18N lat., 125 to 220W long.) are superposed on both the heavily cratered terrain of the southern highlands and the moderately cratered lowlands north of the dichotomy boundary. The origin of MFF materials has been controversial since Viking images first showed its complex texture and extensive distribution. New imaging and topographic data from instruments on the Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) spacecraft have clarified our knowledge of some of the details of MFF, but they have thus far failed to provide unambiguous evidence of the most likely origin for these materials. Here we will summarize the attributes of MFF derived from an abundance of both Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) data, and how this information fits with the many proposed hypotheses of origin for MFF. Recent releases of both MOC and MOLA data have clarified both the geomorphic and topographic attributes of MFF deposits, particularly with regard to the massive nature of most exposures and the unconformable contact relations between MFF and both old and (relatively) young terrains underlying MFF throughout the region. The MGS data do not seem to provide unequivocal evidence of a single origin, raising the possibility that the extensive MFF deposits represent a mixture of origins. As more MGS data are released, these analyses will continue to be evaluated as part of an on-going collaborative effort in an effort to at least reduce the number of the most viable hypotheses of origin.
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