THE GEDIZ VALLIS INVERTED CHANNEL: EVIDENCE FOR LATE-STAGE FLOW IN GALE CRATER, MARS? - Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées Accéder directement au contenu
Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2023

THE GEDIZ VALLIS INVERTED CHANNEL: EVIDENCE FOR LATE-STAGE FLOW IN GALE CRATER, MARS?

Joel M Davis
Gerhard Paar
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Edwin Kite

Résumé

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover continues to ascend the foothills of Aeolis Mons (Mt. Sharp), Gale crater, Mars, with the goal of characterizing former habitable environ-ments [1]. Previously, Curiosity encountered evidence for fluvial and lacustrine environments [2], which ex-isted prior to the formation and exhumation of Aeolis Mons. An ongoing goal for the mission is to assess whether and how water and habitability persisted after the formation of Aeolis Mons. As of Sol 3702, Curiosi-ty is approaching the mouth of Gediz Vallis, a ~9-km long, ~500-800 m wide, ~100-250 m deep canyon in-cising into Aeolis Mons, possibly formed by wind and water-driven erosion [3, 4]. On the Gediz Vallis floor are a series of landforms: a channel, an inverted chan-nel-like ridge, and Gediz Vallis ridge (GVR) [3]. The Gediz Vallis inverted channel (GVIC) is the first such landform to be encountered on the ground on Mars; elsewhere on Mars, inverted channels from orbit have been interpreted as filled fluvial valleys, ephemeral and perennial channels, and channel-belts [5]. Key questions for the GVIC include: Were the rocks which make up the GVIC deposited by flowing water, such as by a debris flow or streamflow? Did deposition occur across the wider GV floor, or was it restricted to the GVIC area? Does the GVIC comprise rocks deposited by one or multiple flow events? Here, we present both contextual orbital observations of the GVIC and long-distance observations as seen by Curiosity, and make initial interpretations of the depositional environment.
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Dates et versions

hal-04034646 , version 1 (17-03-2023)

Identifiants

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Joel M Davis, William E. Dietrich, Sanjeev Gupta, Alexander B Bryk, Steven G. Banham, et al.. THE GEDIZ VALLIS INVERTED CHANNEL: EVIDENCE FOR LATE-STAGE FLOW IN GALE CRATER, MARS?. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Mar 2023, The Woodlands - Texas, United States. pp.1964. ⟨hal-04034646⟩
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