Echus Chasma is a

chasma In planetary nomenclature, a chasma (''plural'': chasmata ) is a deep, elongated, steep-sided depression. As of 2020, the IAU has named 122 such features in the Solar System, on Venus (63), Mars (25), Saturn's satellites Mimas (6), Tethys (2 ...

in the

Lunae Planum The Lunae Palus quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The quadrangle is also referred to as MC-10 (Mars Chart-10). Lunae Planum and parts of ...

high plateau north of the

Valles Marineris Valles Marineris (; Latin for '' Mariner Valleys'', named after the ''Mariner 9'' Mars orbiter of 1971–72 which discovered it) is a system of canyons that runs along the Martian surface east of the Tharsis region. At more than long, wide and ...

canyon system of

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

. It is in the Coprates quadrangle.ESA (2008-07-14). Echus Chasma. Retrieved on 2008-07-15 from http://www.esa.int/esaSC/SEM4CATHKHF_index_0.html. Clay has been found within it, meaning that water once sat there for a time. It may have been one of the many lakes that have been advanced for the Martian past. Research from 2010 suggests that Mars had lakes along parts of the equator, which is where Echus Chasma lies. Although earlier research had showed that Mars had a warm and wet early history that has long since dried up, these lakes existed in the

Hesperian The Hesperian is a system (stratigraphy), geologic system and geologic timescale, time period on the planet Mars characterized by widespread Volcanology of Mars, volcanic activity and catastrophic flooding that carved immense outflow channels acr ...

Epoch, a much later period. Using detailed images from NASA's

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, an ...

, the researchers speculate that there may have been increased volcanic activity, meteorite impacts or shifts in Mars' orbit during this period to warm Mars' atmosphere enough to melt the abundant ice present in the ground. Volcanoes would have released gases that thickened the atmosphere for a temporary period, trapping more sunlight and making it warm enough for liquid water to exist. In this study, channels were discovered that connected lake basins near

Ares Vallis Ares Vallis is an outflow channel on Mars, named after the Greek name for Mars: Ares, the god of war; it appears to have been carved by fluids, perhaps water. The valley 'flows' northwest out of the hilly Margaritifer Terra, where the Iani ...

. When one lake filled up, its waters overflowed the banks and carved the channels to a lower area where another lake would form. These dry lakes would be targets to look for evidence (

biosignature A biosignature (sometimes called chemical fossil or molecular fossil) is any substance – such as an element, isotope, or molecule – or phenomenon that provides scientific evidence of past or present life. Measurable attribute ...

s) of past life.

Geography

Echus Chasma is approximately 100 km long and 10 km wide, with valleys ranging in depth from around 1 km to 4 km. It is the source region of the

Kasei Valles The Kasei Valles are a giant system of canyons in Mare Acidalium and Lunae Palus quadrangles on Mars, centered at 24.6° north latitude and 65.0° west longitude. They are long and were named for the word for "Mars" in Japanese. This is one ...

outflow channel Outflow channels are extremely long, wide swathes of scoured ground on Mars. They extend many hundreds of kilometers in length and are typically greater than one kilometer in width. They are thought to have been carved by huge outburst floods. ...

, which extends northward from it. It is situated just west of Hebes Chasma, to which it does not connect. Image:Echus Chasma.jpg, Layers in Echus Chasma as seen by HiRISE. File:ESP 055019 1795chasmarim.jpg, Layers in Echus Chasma, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program.

References

External links

ESA - Space Science - Echus Chasma
* {{Portal bar, Solar System Valleys and canyons on Mars Coprates quadrangle

Geography

See also

References

External links