Tyrrhena Terra is a large area on Mars, centered south of the Martian equator and immediately northeast of the
Hellas basin. Its coordinates are , and it covers 2300 km at its broadest extent. It was named for a classic
albedo feature
In planetary geology, an albedo feature is a large area on the surface of a planet (or other Solar System body) which shows a contrast in brightness or darkness (albedo) with adjacent areas.
Historically, albedo features were the first (and usu ...
of the planet and is in the
Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle
The Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle is one of a series of List of quadrangles on Mars, 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. This quadrangle (geography), quadrangle is also referre ...
of Mars. Tyrrhena Terra is typical of the southern Martian terrae, with heavily cratered highlands and other rugged terrain. It contains the large volcano
Tyrrhena Patera, one of the oldest volcanoes on Mars. Its largest crater is
Herschel.
Licus Vallis and the
Ausonia Montes
Ausonia Montes is a mountain (officially ''mountains'') in the Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle of Mars, at 25.42° south latitude and 99.04° east longitude. It is across and was named after an albedo
Albedo ( ; ) is the fraction of sunlight tha ...
are other major features in the region. Some channels and dunes are visible in Tyrrhena Terra, as shown in the images below.
Wikiesp 035761 1520layers.jpg, Layers in a valley East of Terby Crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. Location is Iapygia quadrangle.
Wikiterracimmeriaboundaries.jpg, MOLA map showing boundaries of Tyrrhena Terra and other nearby regions
Image:25897ausoniachannel.jpg, Channel in Ausonia Mensa, as seen by HiRISE under the HiWish program
ESP 036051 1515iapyagiachannel.jpg, Channel within a larger channel, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program
HiWish is a program created by NASA so that anyone can suggest a place for the HiRISE camera on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter to photograph. It was started in January 2010. In the first few months of the program 3000 people signed up to use HiR ...
Image:ESP 037844 1690dunes.jpg, Dunes in crater, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program.
Image:ESP 034956 1745dunescraters.jpg, Dunes among craters, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program.
Wikibriault.jpg, Briault Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
The ''Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter'' (''MRO'') is a spacecraft designed to search for the existence of water on Mars and provide support for missions to Mars, as part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program. It was launched from Cape Canaveral on Au ...
).
Wikibriaultdunes.jpg, Dunes on the floor of Briault Crater, as seen by CTX camera (on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Note: this is an enlargement of the previous image of Briault Crater.
Dunes
When there are perfect conditions for producing sand dunes, steady wind in one direction and just enough sand, a barchan sand dune forms. Barchans have a gentle slope on the wind side and a much steeper slope on the lee side where horns or a notch often forms.
Some of the dunes in the pictures above are barchans. Barchan is a Russian term because this type of dune was first seen in the desert regions of Turkistan.
Columnar Jointing
Lava flows sometimes cool to form large groups of more-or-less equally sized columns. These joints have been seen on Mars.
[McEwen, A. et al. 2017. Mars The Pristine Beauty of the Red Planet. University of Arizona Press. Tucson.]
ESP 014016 1945columnarjointing.jpg, Wide view of crater that has columnar jointing that is visible in enlarged images that follow Picture taken with HiRISE.
14016 1945columnarjointingwide.jpg, Crater wall with columnar jointing in the location of the box Columnar joints are easily seen in the enlarged image that follows. Picture taken with HiRISE.
14016 1945columnarjointing.jpg, Close view of crater wall with columnar jointing labeled Picture taken with HiRISE.
Image:Parana traps.JPG, Columnar jointing on the Earth.
Image:Sounkyo 01 a.jpg, Columnar jointing on the Earth.
Image:Columnar Jointing in Yellowstone.JPG, Columnar Jointing in Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...
.
See also
*
Climate of Mars
The climate of Mars has been a topic of scientific curiosity for centuries, in part because it is the only terrestrial planet whose surface can be easily directly observed in detail from Earth with help from a telescope.
Although Mars is small ...
*
Columnar jointing
Columnar jointing is a geological structure where sets of intersecting closely spaced fractures, referred to as Joint (geology), joints, result in the formation of a regular array of polygonal Prism (geometry), prisms, or columns. Columnar join ...
*
Geology of Mars
The geology of Mars is the scientific study of the surface, crust, and interior of the planet Mars. It emphasizes the composition, structure, history, and physical processes that shape the planet. It is analogous to the field of terrestrial geo ...
*
Barchan
A barchan or barkhan dune (from Kazakh бархан ) is a crescent-shaped dune.
Russian naturalist Alexander von Middendorf introduced the term in 1881, working from the occurrence of barchans in Turkestan and in other inland desert regi ...
References
Complex geology of two large impact craters in Tyrrhena Terra, Mars: Detailed analysis using MEX HRSC camera data
Further reading
*Lorenz, R. 2014. The Dune Whisperers. The Planetary Report: 34, 1, 8-14
*Lorenz, R., J. Zimbelman. 2014. Dune Worlds: How Windblown Sand Shapes Planetary Landscapes. Springer Praxis Books / Geophysical Sciences.
Terrae on Mars
Mare Tyrrhenum quadrangle
{{Mars-stub