Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
May 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001agusm...v42a06g&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2001, abstract #V42A-06
Mathematics
Logic
5480 Volcanism (8450), 6035 Orbital And Rotational Dynamics, 6225 Mars
Scientific paper
The post-Viking view of Mars was of a planet virtually volcanically inactive for the last 2.5 Ga. This paradigm persisted in spite of early indications from crater counts that some Tharsis and Elysium volcanism might be as young as 300 Ma. More recently, several studies have independently offered evidence which can be interpreted to suggest volcanic activity late in Martian history. The current emerging hypothesis of young Martian volcanism is based on these lines of evidence. Included in this are analyses of Martian meteorites, photogeologic examination of the planet's surface and detailed crater count studies of high resolution images from MGS/MOC. Possible indications of liquid water present on Mars late in its history may be tied to recently active volcanism as a heat source. Early MGS/MOC crater data from Elysium Planitia suggested some lava flows are as young as 100 Ma and possibly much less. These crater count studies can however be questioned on the basis of two major uncertainties: very small sampling of counts on young flows, and poor absolute surface age estimates on Mars. We have therefore initiated a two-pronged attack to address these uncertainties. The first task is to improve the detailed crater statistics on the large Martian shield volcanoes and their surrounding lava plains. This work builds on studies of the lightly cratered terrains of Elysium Planitia. The second task is to determine the absolute ages of the units using new estimates of the crater production rate on Mars. Theoretical advances and new numerical tools now allow for a better determination of the orbital and size-frequency distribution of the Mars-crossing asteroid population. These results can then be directly compared to recent estimates of the nature of all near-Earth asteroids so that known lunar surface ages can be calibrated to the Martian case. Our initial crater counting work on the flanks of Olympus Mons gives calibrated ages as low as 5-50 Ma for the very youngest flows. Our study will continue for the next three years and will include detailed mapping of individual lava flows, crater density measurements, and age calibration based on estimates of the size and number of Mars and Earth crossing asteroids. This multi-discipline investigation will therefore help to constrain the nature of volcanism on Mars and its geothermal and hydrothermal history.
Berman Daniel C.
Bottke William F.
Grier Jennifer Ann
Hartmann William K.
Keszthelyi Laszlo
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