Rivers and Lakes in Western Arabia Terra: The Fluvial Catchment of the ExoMars 2022 rover landing site

Abstract

 Oxia Planum has a substantial catchment area which experienced at least two phases of fluvial activity from the mid-Noachian to Hesperian  The fluvial system suggests that Oxia Planum formed in an alluvial or a lacustrine/deltaic environment and later altered by groundwater  Paleolakes in the catchment are likely to have been sustained by groundwater but are poorly connected to fluvial system and Oxia Planum Word count: (main text) 8100

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

“…This region spans nearly 5,000 km along the transition zone between the northern lowlands and the southern highlands. Arabia Terra bears evidence of groundwater activity (Andrews‐Hanna et al., 2007, 2010), the existence of deltas (Salese et al., 2019), a potential ocean shoreline (Baker et al., 1991; Di Achille & Hynek, 2010; Rodriguez et al., 2016; Webb, 2004), outflow channels (Fawdon et al., 2022; Molina et al., 2017) volcanic activity (Michalski & Bleacher, 2013; Whelley et al., 2021), and vast deposits of hydrated minerals (Bishop et al., 2020; Gou et al., 2014; Loizeau et al., 2010, 2012, 2015; Michalski, Cuadros, et al., 2013, 2019; Noe Dobrea et al., 2011; Wray et al., 2008). In the west, at the location of the potential shoreline, a region of Arabia Terra called Oxia Planum is the selected landing site of the ExoMars 2022 rover due to a variety of fluvial features and hydrated mineral detections (Lakdawalla, 2019; Quantin‐Nataf et al., 2021; Vago et al., 2015, 2017).…”

Ancient Alluvial Plains at Oxia Planum, Mars

“…The paleosurface now represented by the mounds is constrained by regional stratigraphic relationships to have formed in the early to middle Noachian (McNeil et al, 2021). Fawdon et al (2022) identified several fluvial sinuous ridges (FSRs) in the Oxia basin, providing further evidence for fluvial activity near the landing site. FSRs, or "inverted channels", are ridges of indurated, fluvially deposited sediment exhumed by differential erosion (e.g., Burr et al, 2010;Williams et al, 2009;Davis et al, 2016).…”

“…1). They each drain a region separate to the larger Coogoon Vallis catchment, which connects to the eastern sediment fan (Fawdon et al, 2022). FSR system 1 is found within the eastern part of the landing ellipse; all other systems occur south or southwest of the landing site, but in the same assemblage of geologic materials.…”

“…1), previously interpreted as a delta, which likely formed in multiple stages (Quantin et al, 2021;Molina et al, 2017). The fan is sourced from a regional highland catchment to the southeast, including the extensive and long-lived Coogoon Vallis system (Fawdon et al, 2022;Molina et al, 2017). The fan illustrates how fluvial processes might have transported detrital phyllosilicates from the highland catchment into Oxia Planum, but is interpreted to postdate the formation of the phyllosilicate-bearing bedrock (Quantin et al, 2021;Mandon et al, 2021).…”

Mounds in Oxia Planum: The Burial and Exhumation of the ExoMars Rover Landing Site

“…Parkes Bowen et al, 2022;Brossier et al, 2022;Carter et al, 2016;Gary-Bicas & Rogers, 2021;Mandon et al, 2021;Quantin-Nataf et al, 2021), a hydrated silica-bearing sedimentary fan at the terminus of the Coogoon Valles network suggesting the presence of a standing body of water (e.g. Fawdon et al, 2021a;Quantin-Nataf et al, 2021;Molina et al, 2017), and a series of landforms revealing a complex depositional and erosional history (Quantin-Nataf et al, 2021;Roberts et al, 2021).…”