Protracted Hydrogeological Activity in Arabia Terra, Mars: Evidence From the Structure and Mineralogy of the Layered Deposits of Becquerel Crater

Schmidt, Gene W.; Luzzi, Erica; Rossi, Angelo Pio; Apuzzo, A.; Salvini, Francesco

doi:10.1029/2022je007320

Cited by 11 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 152 publications

(365 reference statements)

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“…Transtensional tectonic features are widely common on Earth, mainly within large-scale strike-slip settings (Donzé et al, 2021). They have also been observed on terrestrial planets (e.g., Mars, Andrews-Hanna et al, 2008;G. Schmidt et al, 2022) and on other ocean worlds, Ganymede (e.g., Rossi et al, 2018), Enceladus (e.g., Rossi et al, 2020), and Titan (e.g., Burkhard et al, 2022;Matteoni et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ménec Fossae on Europa: A Strike-Slip Tectonics Origin above a possible Shallow Water Reservoir

Matteoni

Neesemann

Jaumann

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Faults and fractures may emplace fresh material onto Europa's surface, originating from shallow reservoirs within the ice shell or directly from the subsurface ocean. Ménec Fossae is a region of particular interest, as it displays, within a relatively small area, the interaction of several geological features such as bands, double ridges, chaotic terrains, and fossae. These features might affect the emplacement of buried material and subsequent exposure of fresh volatiles, prime targets for the upcoming JUICE and Europa Clipper missions in order to assess Europa's astrobiological potential. Previous studies already revealed that a deep central trough is present at Ménec Fossae, flanked by several subparallel minor troughs and by few asymmetrical scarps with lobate planforms. The presence of such features has motivated this study, given its potential to provide clear indications on the tectonic regime involved. Through detailed geomorphological-structural mapping on Galileo Solid State Imager data and terrain analysis on Digital Terrain Models, we could develop a novel hypothesis on the formation mechanisms that might have been involved in the study area. We propose that Ménec Fossae has been shaped by transtensional (strike-slip with a major extensional component) tectonic activity, as indicated by the orientation and relationship of the tectonic features present. The shear heating related to such a tectonic setting possibly led to the formation of a shallow water reservoir, that in turn could have generated the observed chaotic terrains, double ridges, and fossae. These results strengthen the case for widely distributed shallow water reservoirs within Europa's ice shell.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ménec Fossae on Europa: A Strike-Slip Tectonics Origin above a possible Shallow Water Reservoir

Matteoni

Neesemann

Jaumann

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…A variety of locations on Mars have been identified as likely representing lacustrine environments (Cadieux and Kah, 2015;Day and Catling, 2020;Lucchitta et al, 1994, Lucchitta, 2010Schmidt et al, 2022). The majority of these environments are thought to have been sustained in the Late Noachian (>3.7 Ga), with many occurring in the Hesperian (3-3.7 Ga) and some possibly as late as the Amazonian (<3 Ga) (Michalski et al, 2022).…”

Section: Playa Lakes On Marsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the presence and specific characteristics of any deep aquifer is still an ongoing debate (Sori and Bramson, 2019;Bierson et al, 2021), the possibility of their existence is intriguing due to the protection from solar radiation such depths would provide for microbial life. Regardless, in spite of unequivocal evidence for extant groundwater on Mars are sparse, there are abundant geological clues that point toward a warmer and wetter planet with a complex hydrogeological history (e.g., Carr and Head, 2010;Di Achille and Hynek, 2010;Orofino et al, 2018;Salese et al, 2019;Dickeson and Davis, 2020;Dickeson and Davis, 2020;Fawdon et al, 2022;Michalski et al, 2022;Schmidt et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural influences on groundwater circulation in the Makgadikgadi salt pans of Botswana? Implications for martian playa environments

Schmidt

Luzzi²,

Franchi³

et al. 2023

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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Across the surface of Mars, evidence of past lacustrine and evaporitic environments has been found within basins and craters, where often layered sedimentary deposits and hydrated minerals are observed. However, the intensity, duration, and precise phases of aqueous processes during their deposition remain unresolved mostly for our inability to model subsurface structures. Although several geological processes and locations on Earth have been previously proposed as examples to describe these deposits on Mars, we lack a strong visualization of what water activity might have looked like during evaporitic stages within basins and craters. Here we propose to investigate the shallow subsurface of the Makgadikgadi salt pans of Botswana as a potential analog for understanding groundwater upwelling on Mars. The pans are found within the Makgadikgadi Basin, a depression located at the southwestern end of a northeast-southwest set of graben linked with the East African Rift. The Makgadikgadi Pans are evaporitic environment rich in hydrated minerals and groundwater activity. The purpose of this work is to identify buried faults and areas of relative water saturation within the lacustrine sediment of the Makgadikgadi Basin by means of electrical resistivity surveys. This work represents the first electrical resistivity survey of the basin floor which provides a precursory investigation of the relationship between groundwater, faults, basement depth, and the lacustrine sediments. We present four electrical survey lines from different locations in the pans which reveal distinct sedimentary units. Several faults are inferred from the vertical displacement of these units and accompanying low resistivity where displacement is observed. These results provide a framework for visualizing the sedimentary sequences of infilled basins and craters on Mars, which can broaden the ongoing discussion of hydrogeological processes that were active in the planet’s past. We propose Meridiani Planum, as well as Oyama and Becquerel crater of Arabia Terra as locations to establish this framework. Since such processes are still ongoing in the Makgadikgadi Basin, imaging the subsurface of the pans helps explain the formation of layered and salty deposits on the surface of Mars, how they may have interacted with flowing water, and whether they might have hosted life.

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“…The Arabia Terra region of the southern highlands is predominantly Noachian in age and is bounded to the north and west by the planetary dichotomy, and sits at a markedly lower elevation than the majority of the southern highlands. Further setting the region in contrast to the wider highlands is evidence of significant resurfacing and exhumation (Schmidt et al, 2021(Schmidt et al, , 2022, with erosion depths on the scale of 10 2 -10 3 m (Evans et al, 2010;Zabrusky et al, 2012). The topographic consequences of these processes are most visible at the edge of the lowlands, where deposition and erosion of a mantling layer up to 60 m in thickness may influence the morphology of the dichotomy scarp (Fassett and Head III, 2007), as well as the distribution and morphology of mesas within lowland terrains (McNeil et al, 2021).…”

Section: Study Area In Western Arabia Terramentioning

confidence: 99%

Hydrological History of a Palaeolake and Valley System on the Planetary Dichotomy in Arabia Terra, Mars

Dickeson

Grindrod

Davis

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Protracted Hydrogeological Activity in Arabia Terra, Mars: Evidence From the Structure and Mineralogy of the Layered Deposits of Becquerel Crater

Cited by 11 publications

References 152 publications

Ménec Fossae on Europa: A Strike-Slip Tectonics Origin above a possible Shallow Water Reservoir

Ménec Fossae on Europa: A Strike-Slip Tectonics Origin above a possible Shallow Water Reservoir

Structural influences on groundwater circulation in the Makgadikgadi salt pans of Botswana? Implications for martian playa environments

Hydrological History of a Palaeolake and Valley System on the Planetary Dichotomy in Arabia Terra, Mars

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