Are the Dorsa Argentea on Mars eskers?

Butcher, Frances E. G.; Conway, Susan J.; Arnold, Neil

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2016.03.028

Cited by 41 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Instead, we observe localized and relatively delicate exposed and preserved subglacial esker systems (Head and Pratt ; Kress and Head ; Butcher et al. ) and related features (Milkovich et al. ; Dickson and Head ), and a small number of individual focused drainage systems into surrounding basins (Ghatan and Head ), all consistent with modest global heating, basal melting, and runoff coincident with equatorial VN formation (Fastook et al.…”

Section: Consequences and Testable Hypotheses Of The Baseline Segura mentioning

confidence: 55%

“…For example, if not entirely vaporizing the deposit, such near-instantaneous and catastrophic heating of a DAF ice sheet is predicted to form large and extensive circum-DAF meltwater channels radiating away from the margins of the deposit, potentially carving well back into the deposit outcrop region. Instead, we observe localized and relatively delicate exposed and preserved subglacial esker systems (Head and Pratt 2001;Kress and Head 2015;Butcher et al 2016) and related features (Milkovich et al 2002;Dickson and Head 2006), and a small number of individual focused drainage systems into surrounding basins (Ghatan and Head 2004), all consistent with modest global heating, basal melting, and runoff coincident with equatorial VN formation (Fastook et al 2012;Fastook and Head 2015;Scanlon et al 2016aScanlon et al , 2016bScanlon et al , 2018.…”

Section: The South Circumpolar Dorsa Argentea Formationmentioning

confidence: 64%

“…The Dorsa Argentea Formation shows evidence of marginal melting in the form of collections of positive sedimentary ridges interpreted to be eskers (Kargel and Strom ; Head and Pratt ; Butcher et al. ), remnant sedimentary features formed in subglacial meltwater channels and exposed as ridges when the surrounding ice recedes (e.g., Brennand ). The exposure ages of the DAF sinuous ridges (Kress and Head ) date to the same time as formation times of the equatorial VNs (Fassett and Head ).…”

Section: Consequences and Testable Hypotheses Of The Baseline Segura mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The extremely large areal extent of the DAF (~2.5 times larger than the present south polar deposits; Head and Pratt 2001) could be due to a larger surface water inventory in earlier Martian history (e.g., Carr and Head 2015), or to the presence of a denser Martian atmosphere in which the south pole of Mars would have been a much more effective cold trap than the north pole (e.g., Forget et al 2013;Mischna et al 2013;Wordsworth et al 2013). The Dorsa Argentea Formation shows evidence of marginal melting in the form of collections of positive sedimentary ridges interpreted to be eskers (Kargel and Strom 1992;Head and Pratt 2001;Butcher et al 2016), remnant sedimentary features formed in subglacial meltwater channels and exposed as ridges when the surrounding ice recedes (e.g., Brennand 2000). The exposure ages of the DAF sinuous ridges (Kress and Head 2015) date to the same time as formation times of the equatorial VNs (Fassett and Head 2008b).…”

Section: The South Circumpolar Dorsa Argentea Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact cratering as a cause of climate change, surface alteration, and resurfacing during the early history of Mars

Palumbo

Head

2017

Meteorit & Planetary Scien

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Ancient valley networks (VNs) and related open‐ and closed‐basin lakes are testimony to the presence of flowing liquid water on the surface of Mars in the Late Noachian and Early Hesperian. Uncertain, however, has been the mechanism responsible for causing the necessary rainfall and runoff and/or snowfall and subsequent melting. Impact cratering has been proposed (e.g., Segura et al. 2002) as a process for temporarily raising temperatures and inducing conditions that would produce rainfall, snowmelt, runoff, and formation of the VNs and associated lacustrine features. We refer to the collective effects of this process as the ICASE model (impact cratering atmospheric/surface effects). In this contribution, we assess the proposed impact cratering mechanism in order to understand its climatic implications for early Mars: we outline the step‐by‐step events in the cratering process and explore the predictions for atmospheric and surface geological consequences. For large and basin‐scale impacts, rainfall should be globally and homogeneously distributed and characterized by very high temperatures. Rainfall rates are predicted to be high, ~2 m yr−1, similar to rates in tropical rainforests on Earth, and runoff rates are correspondingly very high. These predicted characteristics do not seem to be consistent with the observed VNs, which are mainly equatorial and not homogeneous in their distribution. Prior to the Late Noachian, however, we predict that basin‐scale impact effects are very likely to contribute significantly to degradation of crater rims and regional smoothing of terrain, implying vast resurfacing and resetting of crater ages following large crater and basin‐scale impacts. Furthermore, the high temperatures of impact‐induced rainwater and snowmelt and the pervasive penetration of heat into the regolith substrate are predicted to have a significant influence on the mineralogical alteration of the crust and its resulting physical properties. We conclude by describing a case example (Isidis basin) and describe how the ICASE model provides an alternative scenario for the interpretation of the layered phyllosilicates in the Nili Fossae and NE Sytris regions. We outline specific conclusions and recommendations designed to improve the ICASE model and to promote further understanding of its implications for the geological, mineralogical, and climate history of early Mars.

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Section: Consequences and Testable Hypotheses Of The Baseline Segura mentioning

confidence: 55%

Section: The South Circumpolar Dorsa Argentea Formationmentioning

confidence: 64%

Section: Consequences and Testable Hypotheses Of The Baseline Segura mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The South Circumpolar Dorsa Argentea Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact cratering as a cause of climate change, surface alteration, and resurfacing during the early history of Mars

Palumbo

Head

2017

Meteorit & Planetary Scien

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“…The recent large-scale studies of esker morphometry from satellite imagery (e.g., Storrar et al, 2014) have argued in favor of time-transgressive formation behind a retreating ice margin; the model presented by Beaud et al (2018) raises the possibility of linking more detailed morphometric studies of individual eskers to the possible hydrological regimes at the time of their formation. Their model even raises the possibility of reconstructing the possible discharge regimes from detailed morphometry of the putative ancient (e.g., Bernhardt et al, 2013;Butcher et al, 2016) and more modern (Butcher et al, 2017;Gallagher & Balme, 2015) eskers argued to exist on Mars.…”

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confidence: 99%

A New Model for Esker Formation Sheds Light on the Processes Within Subglacial Tunnels

Arnold¹

2019

JGR Earth Surface

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Eskers are long sedimentary ridges that are widespread in current and previously glaciated landscapes. Eskers are believed to form when sediment carried by glacial meltwater gets deposited in subglacial tunnels, which given the importance of subglacial water for ice dynamics means that eskers can provide important information about the shape and dynamics of ice sheets and glaciers. To date, however, no physical model for their formation has been developed. Beaud et al. (2018, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JF004779) present the first such model; they have linked an existing model for subglacial water flow with one for sediment transport, erosion, and deposition in mixed sediment/bedrock streams. The results of the model add new insights into the conditions which promote esker formation, the rate of supply of sediment to proglacial environments, and also suggest possible links between the water flow regime and the likely esker morphology.

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Recent Basal Melting of a Mid‐Latitude Glacier on Mars

et al. 2017

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Evidence for past basal melting of young (late Amazonian‐aged), debris‐covered glaciers in Mars' mid‐latitudes is extremely rare. Thus, it is widely thought that these viscous flow features (VFFs) have been perennially frozen to their beds. We identify an instance of recent, localized wet‐based mid‐latitude glaciation, evidenced by a candidate esker emerging from a VFF in a tectonic rift in Tempe Terra. Eskers are sedimentary ridges deposited in ice‐walled meltwater conduits and are indicative of glacial melting. We compare the candidate esker to terrestrial analogues, present a geomorphic map of landforms in the rift, and develop a landsystem model to explain their formation. We propose that the candidate esker formed during a transient phase of wet‐based glaciation. We then consider the similarity between the geologic setting of the new candidate esker and that of the only other candidate esker to be identified in association with an existing mid‐latitude VFF; both are within tectonic graben/rifts proximal to volcanic provinces. Finally, we calculate potential basal temperatures for a range of VFF thicknesses, driving stresses, mean annual surface temperatures, and geothermal heat fluxes, which unlike previous studies, include the possible role of internal strain heating. Strain heating can form an important additional heat source, especially in flow convergence zones, or where ice is warmer due to elevated surface temperatures or geothermal heat flux. Elevated geothermal heat flux within rifts, perhaps combined with locally‐elevated strain heating, may have permitted wet‐based glaciation during the late Amazonian, when cold climates precluded more extensive wet‐based glaciation on Mars.

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Are the Dorsa Argentea on Mars eskers?

Cited by 41 publications

References 42 publications

Impact cratering as a cause of climate change, surface alteration, and resurfacing during the early history of Mars

Impact cratering as a cause of climate change, surface alteration, and resurfacing during the early history of Mars

A New Model for Esker Formation Sheds Light on the Processes Within Subglacial Tunnels

Recent Basal Melting of a Mid‐Latitude Glacier on Mars

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