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Valles Marineris
Valles Marineris (; Latin for ''Mariner program, Mariner Valleys'', named after the Mariner 9 Mars orbiter of 1971–72 which discovered it) is a system of canyons that runs along the Mars, Martian surface east of the Tharsis region. At more than long, wide and up to deep, Valles Marineris is the largest List of largest rifts and valleys in the Solar System, canyon in the Solar System. Valles Marineris is located along the equator of Mars, on the east side of the Tharsis Bulge, and stretches for nearly a quarter of the planet's circumference. The canyon system starts in the west with Noctis Labyrinthus; proceeding to the east are Tithonium Chasma, Tithonium and Ius Chasma, Ius chasmata, then Melas Chasma, Melas, Candor Chasma, Candor and Ophir Chasma, Ophir chasmata, then Coprates Chasma, then Ganges Chasma, Ganges, Capri Chasma, Capri and Eos Chasma, Eos chasmata; finally it empties into an outflow channel region containing chaotic terrain that ends in the basin of Chryse Plan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars Valles Marineris
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmospheric pressure is a few thousandths of Earth's, atmospheric temperature ranges from and cosmic radiation is high. Mars retains some water, in the ground as well as thinly in the atmosphere, forming cirrus clouds, frost, larger polar regions of permafrost and ice caps (with seasonal snow), but no liquid surface water. Its surface gravity is roughly a third of Earth's or double that of the Moon. It is half as wide as Earth or twice the Moon, with a diameter of , and has a surface area the size of all the dry land of Earth. Fine dust is prevalent across the surface and the atmosphere, being picked up and spread at the low Martian gravity even by the weak wind of the tenuous atmosphere. The terrain of Mars roughly follows a north-south divid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coprates Chasma
Coprates Chasma () is a huge canyon in the Coprates quadrangle of Mars, located at 13.4° south latitude and 61.4° west longitude, part of the Valles Marineris canyon system. It is long and was named after a classical albedo feature name. It was named from the classical Greek name for the Dez River in Persia. Near 60° W is the deepest point of the Valles Marineris system (as well as its lowest point by elevation) at below the surrounding plateau. Eastward from here there is about a 0.03 degree upward slope before reaching the outflow channels, which means that if you filled the canyon with fluid, it would create a lake with a depth of before the fluid would overflow out onto the northern plains. Keith Harrison and Mary Chapman described strong evidence for a former lake in the eastern part of Valles Marineris, especially in Coprates Chasma. It would have had an average depth of only 842 m—much smaller than the 5–10 km depth of parts of Valles Marineris. Stil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rift
In geology, a rift is a linear zone where the lithosphere is being pulled apart and is an example of extensional tectonics. Typical rift features are a central linear downfaulted depression, called a graben, or more commonly a half-graben with normal faulting and rift-flank uplifts mainly on one side. Where rifts remain above sea level they form a rift valley, which may be filled by water forming a rift lake. The axis of the rift area may contain volcanic rocks, and active volcanism is a part of many, but not all, active rift systems. Major rifts occur along the central axis of most mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust and lithosphere is created along a divergent boundary between two tectonic plates. ''Failed rifts'' are the result of continental rifting that failed to continue to the point of break-up. Typically the transition from rifting to spreading develops at a triple junction where three converging rifts meet over a hotspot. Two of these evolve to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pavonis Mons
Pavonis Mons (Latin for "peacock mountain") is a large shield volcano located in the Tharsis region of the planet Mars. It is the middle member of a chain of three volcanic mountains (collectively known as the Tharsis Montes) that straddle the Martian equator between longitudes 235°E and 259°E. The volcano was discovered by the Mariner 9 spacecraft in 1971, and was originally called Middle Spot. Its name formally became Pavonis Mons in 1973. The equatorial location of its peak and its height make it the ideal terminus for a space elevator, and it has often been proposed as a space elevator location, especially in science fiction. It is also an ideal location for a Sky Ramp. General description Pavonis Mons stands at the southern edge of the Tharsis quadrangle - approximately 400 km southwest of Ascraeus Mons (the northernmost of the Tharsis Montes) and 400 km northeast of Arsia Mons (the southernmost member of the chain). The Tharsis Montes volcanoes lie along ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lava
Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fracture in the Crust (geology), crust, on land or underwater, usually at temperatures from . The volcanic rock resulting from subsequent cooling is often also called ''lava''. A lava flow is an outpouring of lava during an effusive eruption. (An explosive eruption, by contrast, produces a mixture of volcanic ash and other fragments called tephra, not lava flows.) The viscosity of most lava is about that of ketchup, roughly 10,000 to 100,000 times that of water. Even so, lava can flow great distances before cooling causes it to solidify, because lava exposed to air quickly develops a solid crust that insulates the remaining liquid lava, helping to keep it hot and inviscid enough to continue flowing. Etymology The word ''lava'' comes from Ital ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at normally-encountered concentrations it is odorless. As the source of carbon in the carbon cycle, atmospheric is the primary carbon source for life on Earth. In the air, carbon dioxide is transparent to visible light but absorbs infrared, infrared radiation, acting as a greenhouse gas. Carbon dioxide is soluble in water and is found in groundwater, lakes, ice caps, and seawater. It is a trace gas Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, in Earth's atmosphere at 421 parts per million (ppm), or about 0.042% (as of May 2022) having risen from pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm or about 0.028%. Burning fossil fuels is the main cause of these increased concentrations, which are the primary cause of climate change.IPCC (2022Summary for pol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Water
Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a solvent). It is vital for all known forms of life, despite not providing food energy or organic micronutrients. Its chemical formula, , indicates that each of its molecules contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms, connected by covalent bonds. The hydrogen atoms are attached to the oxygen atom at an angle of 104.45°. In liquid form, is also called "water" at standard temperature and pressure. Because Earth's environment is relatively close to water's triple point, water exists on Earth as a solid, a liquid, and a gas. It forms precipitation in the form of rain and aerosols in the form of fog. Clouds consist of suspended droplets of water and ice, its solid state. When finely divided, crystalline ice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithosphere (journal)
The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchcock, John R. Procter and Edward Orton and has been headquartered at 3300 Penrose Place, Boulder, Colorado, US, since 1967. GSA began with 100 members under its first president, James Hall. In 1889 Mary Emilie Holmes became its first female member. It grew slowly but steadily to 600 members until 1931, when a nearly $4 million endowment from 1930 president R. A. F. Penrose Jr. jumpstarted GSA's growth. As of December 2017, GSA had more than 25,000 members in over 100 countries. The society has six regional sections in North America, three interdisciplinary interest groups, and eighteen specialty divisions. Activities The stated mission of GSA is "to advance geoscience research and discovery, service to society, stewardship of Earth, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tectonics
Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes include those of orogeny, mountain-building, the growth and behavior of the strong, old cores of continents known as cratons, and the ways in which the relatively rigid tectonic plate, plates that constitute the Earth's outer shell interact with each other. Principles of tectonics also provide a framework for understanding the earthquake and volcanic belts that directly affect much of the global population. Tectonic studies are important as guides for economic geology, economic geologists searching for fossil fuels and ore deposits of metallic and nonmetallic resources. An understanding of tectonic principles can help geomorphology, geomorphologists to explain Erosion and tectonics, erosion patterns and other Earth-surface features. Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chryse Planitia
Chryse Planitia (Greek, "''Golden Plain''") is a smooth circular plain in the northern equatorial region of Mars close to the Tharsis region to the west, centered at . Chryse Planitia lies partially in the Lunae Palus quadrangle, partially in the Oxia Palus quadrangle, partially in the Mare Acidalium quadrangle. It is 1600 km or 994 mi in diameter and with a floor 2.5 km below the average planetary surface altitude, and has been suggested to be an ancient buried impact basin, though this is contested. It has several features in common with lunar maria, such as wrinkle ridges. The density of impact craters in the range is close to half the average for lunar maria. Chryse Planitia shows evidence of water erosion in the past, and is the bottom end for many outflow channels from the southern highlands as well as from Valles Marineris and the flanks of the Tharsis bulge. It is one of the lowest regions on Mars ( below the mean surface elevation of Mars), so water w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaotic Terrain
In astrogeology, chaos terrain, or chaotic terrain, is a planetary surface area where features such as ridges, cracks, and plains appear jumbled and enmeshed with one another. Chaos terrain is a notable feature of the planets Mars and Mercury, Jupiter's moon Europa, and the dwarf planet Pluto. In scientific nomenclature, "chaos" is used as a component of proper nouns (e.g., "Aureum Chaos" on Mars). On Mars File:Wikichaosmap.jpg, Topography map of Oxia Palus region of Mars, showing the location of a number of chaos regions File:Mapbeer.jpg, Map showing location of Arsinoes Chaos (far left), Iani Chaos, Aureum Chaos, Margaritifer Chaos, and other nearby features File:Margaritifer Sinus Map.JPG, Map of Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle with major features labeled. Aureum Chaos is near the top of the map. File:Canyons and Mesas of Aureum Chaos in Oxia Palus.JPG, Huge canyons in Aureum Chaos, as seen by THEMIS. Gullies are rare at this latitude. Image from Margaritifer Sinus quadra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outflow Channel
Outflow channels are extremely long, wide swathes of scoured ground on Mars.Carr, M.H. (2006), ''The Surface of Mars''. Cambridge Planetary Science Series, Cambridge University Press. 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. Crater counts indicate that most of the channels were cut since the early Hesperian,Hartmann, W.K., and Neukum, G. (2001). "Cratering chronology and the evolution of Mars". In: ''Chronology and Evolution of Mars'', ed. R. Kallenbach et al. Dordrecht: Kluwer, p. 165-94. though the age of the features is variable between different regions of Mars. Some outflow channels in the Amazonis and Elysium Planitiae regions have yielded ages of only tens of millions of years, extremely young by the standards of Martian topographic features.Burr, D.M., McEwan, A.S., and Sakimoto, S.E. (2002). "Recent aqueous floods from the Cerberus Fossae", '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
