Constraining the formation of paleolake inlet valleys across crater rims

Bamber, Emily R.; Goudge, T. A.; Fassett, C. I.; Osinski, G. R.

doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2022.114945

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 143 publications

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“…Such a change in base level could be brought about by a knick point migrating upstream after the breach of the Eberswalde crater wall that started the filling of the crater and the formation of the crater lake. It is also possible that filling and overflow of this small upstream basin initiated the breaching of the downstream Eberswalde crater wall (e.g., Bamber et al., 2022). Either scenario would imply that the early stages of fluvial activity resulted in water and sediment filling the small intra‐watershed basin until the breaching of the Eberswalde crater's western wall.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of Clay‐Rich Sediment in Eberswalde Crater, Mars With Implications for Biopreservation Potential

et al. 2023

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Introduction and Background Mars HabitabilityToday, the mean atmospheric pressure at the surface of Mars is ∼0.6 atm, and the mean surface temperature during the day has been shown to be ∼200 K (e.g., Schofield et al., 1997). Within this cold and thin atmosphere, liquid water is not thermodynamically stable, and most water on present-day Mars is locked in the cryosphere. However, abundant geologic evidence in the form of massive drainage networks (e.g., Barnhart et al., 2009;Hynek & Phillips, 2003), and numerous preserved fluvially constructed deposits (e.g., Ansan et al., 2011;Dibiase et al., 2013) indicate that at some point in Mars' history its climate was amenable to overland flow. Dating based on crater density in regions of fluvial incision and valley network formation indicates that most fluvial activity on the surface of Mars ceased prior to ∼3.5 Ga (Figure 1) (e.g., . Observations consistent with pervasive aqueous activity are not limited to stratigraphic or geomorphic expressions; there is also abundant spectrally observed evidence for water-rich conditions early in Mars history in the form of aqueous alteration minerals

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources of Clay‐Rich Sediment in Eberswalde Crater, Mars With Implications for Biopreservation Potential

et al. 2023

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“…Recent work by Bamber et al. (2022) has shown that many breached paleolake basins from the Martian valley network forming era, when most open‐basin lakes formed (Goudge et al., 2016), were able to develop inlet valleys due to a lack of impedance by tall crater rims. Bamber et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bamber et al. (2022) hypothesized that crater degradation, a key feature of the Noachian Martian surface environment (e.g., Craddock & Maxwell, 1993; Craddock et al., 1997; Forsberg‐Taylor et al., 2004; Matsubara et al., 2018), was able to “pre‐condition” craters for inlet valley formation by rim relief lowering and elimination, and thus primed craters for lake initiation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An interesting consideration for the relationship between crater rim height and drained fraction relates to the upstream portion of these systems, and how paleolake basins within craters might initiate. Recent work by Bamber et al (2022) has shown that many breached paleolake basins from the Martian valley network forming era, when most open-basin lakes formed (Goudge et al, 2016), were able to develop inlet valleys due to a lack of impedance by tall crater rims. Bamber et al (2022) hypothesized that crater degradation, a key feature of the Noachian Martian surface environment (e.g., Craddock & Maxwell, 1993;Craddock et al, 1997;Forsberg-Taylor et al, 2004;Matsubara et al, 2018), was able to "pre-condition" craters for inlet valley formation by rim relief lowering and elimination, and thus primed craters for lake initiation.…”

Section: Insights From Mars Open-basin Lake Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing Controls on the Incomplete Draining of Martian Open‐Basin Lakes

et al. 2023

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Over 250 hydrologically open paleolakes, which filled with water before catastrophically breaching, have been identified on Mars. These open‐basin lakes are recognized by the topographic geometry of a closed contour below the elevation of the outlet, indicating that the lake was incompletely drained by the breach flood. Here, we explore factors that controlled how completely a given open‐basin lake on Mars drained using (a) observations of 24 open‐basin lakes on Mars and (b) numerical modeling experiments of lake breach flooding. Observational results suggest that the key parameters for promoting more complete draining in open‐basin lakes on Mars were steeper regional slopes and taller crater rims. From a suite of 303 numerical experiments, we find that more complete draining is accomplished with larger basins, steeper regional slopes, basins with steeper walls, taller crater rims, and a more erodible substrate (parameterized by grain size in our model). Outliers in the observational results suggest that complete draining was inhibited by the presence of another lake immediately downstream of the breach as well as a less erodible substrate relative to other basins. We observe no correlation between open‐basin lake area and drained fraction on Mars, contrary to the strong trend in our numerical experiments. We hypothesize that this is the result of increasing resistance to erosion with depth in the Martian crust, which is not incorporated into our model. Our results provide new insights into controls on the fluvial integration of the early Mars landscape as well as the spatially variable erodibility of the shallow Martian crust.

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“…For non‐breached craters, the point of highest flow accumulation outside the crater and within 1.25 R of the crater center was selected. We chose 1.25 R as this distance is typically sufficient for finding low elevation troughs or slope breaks in across‐rim profiles (Bamber et al., 2022), and different limits did not tend to change our results (Text S4 in Supporting Information ). We emphasize that this measurement approach is intended for order‐of‐magnitude comparison of potential drainage areas and is not intended to represent actual paleo‐catchments, since local terrains have likely been modified since the VN‐forming era (Matsubara et al., 2011), and we cannot be certain that runoff was generated in each delineated area.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Paleolake Inlet Valley Formation: Factors Controlling Which Craters Breached on Early Mars

Bamber

Goudge

Fassett

et al. 2022

Geophysical Research Letters

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The ancient surface of Mars is dominated by degraded impact craters with reduced or eliminated rim relief. Some degraded craters have an inlet valley, while many remain fluvially isolated. Despite controlling Martian fluvial connectivity, few constraints exist on why some—but not all—degraded craters possess inlets. We compared a suite of properties around degraded Martian craters with and without inlets to ascertain what topographic and hydrologic factors influenced inlet formation. Slope and surface roughness are similar, but topographic inset within the catchment, drainage density, and potential contributing areas diverge for breached and non‐breached craters. We suggest that the importance of basin hydrology‐related factors over topographic factors is the result of the former less frequently surpassing inlet incision thresholds than the latter. We conclude that greater topographic inset (i.e., craters deeper within regional depressions) promoted higher discharge, and that inlet valley formation was ultimately controlled by Mars' crater‐dominated topography.

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Constraining the formation of paleolake inlet valleys across crater rims

Cited by 6 publications

References 143 publications

Sources of Clay‐Rich Sediment in Eberswalde Crater, Mars With Implications for Biopreservation Potential

Sources of Clay‐Rich Sediment in Eberswalde Crater, Mars With Implications for Biopreservation Potential

Assessing Controls on the Incomplete Draining of Martian Open‐Basin Lakes

Paleolake Inlet Valley Formation: Factors Controlling Which Craters Breached on Early Mars

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