Relationship of Fault Geometry to Catastrophic Outflow on Mars

Details Relationship of Fault Geometry to Catastrophic Outflow on Mars Relationship of Fault Geometry to Catastrophic Outflow on Mars

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufm.p23b0063d&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #P23B-0063

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5419 Hydrology And Fluvial Processes, 6225 Mars

Scientific paper

We present results from studies of large outflow channels on Mars that suggest fault morphology is a critical factor for the trapping and catastrophic release of water on Mars, resulting in large flooding events. On Earth, hot springs are commonly concentrated around fault relays, bends, and fault tips, where jointing forms in zones of concentrated stress promoting tensile failure. Examples of fault controlled hydrothermal activity have been documented in the Coso Geothermal Field in California, Southern Seismic Zone in Iceland, Waiotapu Geothermal Field in New Zealand, Killoran Fault in Ireland, and throughout the southwestern United States. On Earth, abrupt changes in the water table, as well as the formation of sand-boils and springs, are associated with earthquakes, and their spatial distribution is related to the geometry of the earthquake slip patch. A similar process may occur on Mars, where hydrothermal waters collect in highly fractured zones at fault relays, and are released catastrophically during an earthquake event. Two examples of large outflow channels on Mars, Mangala and Athabasca Valles, appear to be sourced in a relay zone. Other Martian examples show sourcing at fault bends and fault tips. Data from the instruments on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will help us to further understand this mechanism by which large flood events may occur. High resolution images from HiRISE will be used to map these fault systems and estimate outflow rates, and data from CRISM will be used to identify regions of past high temperature fluid flow on the surface of Mars.

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