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Aromatum Chaos
Aromatum Chaos is a deep depression, in what is considered chaotic terrain. It is the source of the outflow channel Ravi Vallis, and is situated at the eastern end of Xanthe Terra, in the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of Mars, located at . Aromatum Chaos is in length, and has an average width of about . The maximum depth of the floor of Aromatum Chaos has been calculated to be about below the rim level. The mean depth of the western two-thirds of the Aromatum Chaos depression is about 1.64 km, and the remaining eastern one third of the area, is estimated to be about km in depth below the rim (using MOLA topography data). Thus, the average depth is . The Aromatum Chaos depression and the neighboring Ravi Vallis outflow channel are thought to have been caused by volcano-ice interactions, involving a combination of dikes and sills, which disrupted the cryosphere underneath the surface. This is thought to have pierced an underground aquifer, resulting in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ravi Vallis
Ravi Vallis is an ancient outflow channel, the source of which originates from the Aromatum Chaos depression, and is situated at the eastern end of Xanthe Terra, in the Margaritifer Sinus quadrangle (MC-19) region of Mars, located at . The Ravi Vallis outflow channel is long, and starts at the northeastern end of the Aromatum Chaos depression. The channel is orientated in an easterly direction, and further down channel, Ravi Vallis divides into two; a larger northern channel, and a smaller southern channel, and is finally truncated by a fault which is located at the western margin of the Hydraotes Chaos depression. Ravi Vallis was named after the Ravi River, an ancient Indian river. The Ravi Vallis outflow channel and neighboring deep depression at Aromatum Chaos, are thought to have been caused by volcano-ice interactions underneath the surface, which pierced an underground aquifer. This released large amounts of water, causing a catastrophic flood event, with an estimated spe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aquifer
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called ''hydrogeology''. Related concepts include aquitard, a bed (geology), bed of low permeability along an aquifer, and aquiclude (or ''aquifuge''), a solid and impermeable region underlying or overlying an aquifer, the pressure of which could lead to the formation of a confined aquifer. Aquifers can be classified as saturated versus unsaturated; aquifers versus aquitards; confined versus unconfined; isotropic versus anisotropic; porous, karst, or fractured; and transboundary aquifer. Groundwater from aquifers can be sustainably harvested by humans through the use of qanats leading to a well. This groundwater is a major source of fresh water for many regions, althoug ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outflow Channels
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", ''M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outburst Flood
In geomorphology, an outburst flood—a type of megaflood—is a high-magnitude, low-frequency catastrophic flood involving the sudden release of a large quantity of water. During the last deglaciation, numerous glacial lake outburst floods were caused by the collapse of either ice sheets or glaciers that formed the dams of proglacial lakes. Examples of older outburst floods are known from the geological past of the Earth and inferred from geomorphological evidence on Mars. Landslides, lahars, and volcanic dams can also block rivers and create lakes, which trigger such floods when the rock or earthen barrier collapses or is eroded. Lakes also form behind glacial moraines or ice dams, which can collapse and create outburst floods. Definition and classification Megafloods are paleofloods (past floods) that involved rates of water flow larger than those in the historical record. They are studied through the sedimentary deposits and the erosional and constructional landforms th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martian Chaos Terrain
The planet Mars has distinctive areas of chaos terrain, a topography unlike any on Earth. Chaos terrain generally consists of irregular groups of large blocks, some reaching tens of kilometers across and a hundred or more meters high. The tilted and flat topped blocks form depressions hundreds of metres deep. A chaotic region can be recognized by a rat's nest of mesas, buttes, and hills, chopped through with valleys which in places look almost patterned. Some parts of this chaotic area have not collapsed completely—they are still formed into large mesas, so they may still contain water ice. Chaos regions formed long ago. By counting craters (more craters in any given area means an older surface) and by studying the valleys' relations with other geological features, scientists have concluded the channels formed 2.0 to 3.8 billion years ago. Locations The greatest concentrations of chaotic terrain are in the same locations as giant, ancient river valleys. Because so many large ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Areas Of Chaos Terrain On Mars
This is a list of areas of chaos terrain officially named by the International Astronomical Union on the planet Mars. Chaos terrain (or chaotic terrain) is an astrogeological term used to denote planetary surface areas where features such as ridges, cracks, and plains appear jumbled and enmeshed with one another. Coordinates are in planetocentric latitude with east longitude. Areas of chaos terrain are usually named after a nearby albedo feature as in line with the IAU's rules on planetary nomenclature. Such an albedo feature must feature on the maps of Mars made by either Giovanni Schiaparelli or Eugène Michel Antoniadi and are listed at Classical albedo features on Mars. References This list was adapted from the public domaiGazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature courtesy of the United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the discipl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaos 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mangala Valles
The Mangala Valles are a complex system of criss-crossing channels on Mars, located in the Tharsis region and in the Memnonia quadrangle. They originated in the Hesperian and Amazonian epochs. They are thought to be an outflow channel system, carved by catastrophic floods, and the release of vast quantities of water across the Martian surface. This flooding was probably initiated by tectonic stretching and the formation of a graben, Mangala Fossa, at the channels' head, perhaps breaching a pressurized aquifer trapped beneath a thick "cryosphere" (layer of frozen ground) beneath the surface. The Mangala Valles contain several basins; after they filled, the overflow went through a series of spillways. One source of waters for the system was the Memonia Fossae, but water also probably came from a large basin centered at 40 degrees S. A recent study that used photogeologic analysis, geomorphic surface mapping, cratering statistics, and relative stratigraphy, demonstrated that the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 of the largest outflow channel systems on Mars. Geography This huge system is 300 miles wide in some places. In contrast, Earth's Grand Canyon is only 18 miles wide. It is one of the longest continuous outflow channel systems on Mars. The Kasei Valles system begins in Echus Chasma, near Valles Marineris. It runs initially northward, then turns eastward and appears to empty into Chryse Planitia, not far from where Viking 1 landed. At around 20° north latitude the system splits into two channels, called Kasei Vallis Canyon and North Kasei Channel. These branches recombine at around 63° west longitude, forming a large island between the channels known as Sacra Mensa. Some parts of the Kasei Valles are 2–3 km deep. Like ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryosphere
The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Thus, there is an overlap with the hydrosphere. The cryosphere is an integral part of the global climate system. It also has important Climate change feedbacks, feedbacks on the climate system. These feedbacks come from the cryosphere's influence on surface energy and moisture fluxes, clouds, the water cycle, atmospheric and Ocean circulation, oceanic circulation. Through these feedback processes, the cryosphere plays a significant role in the global climate and in climate model response to global changes. Approximately 10% of the Earth's surface is covered by ice, but this is rapidly decreasing. Current reductions in the cryosphere (Effects of climate change, caused by climate change) are measurable in Ice sheet#Melting due to climate change, ice sh ... [...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] |
Sill (geology)
In geology, a sill is a tabular sheet intrusion that has intruded between older layers of sedimentary rock, beds of volcanic lava or tuff, or along the direction of foliation in metamorphic rock. A sill is a ''concordant intrusive sheet'', meaning that it does not cut across preexisting rock beds. Stacking of sills builds a sill complex. and a large magma chamber at high magma flux. In contrast, a dike is a discordant intrusive sheet, which does cut across older rocks. Formation Sills are fed by dikes, except in unusual locations where they form in nearly vertical beds attached directly to a magma source. The rocks must be brittle and fracture to create the planes along which the magma intrudes the parent rock bodies, whether this occurs along preexisting planes between sedimentary or volcanic beds or weakened planes related to foliation in metamorphic rock. These planes or weakened areas allow the intrusion of a thin sheet-like body of magma paralleling the existi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
