Search Publications
Sedimentological evidence for a deltaic origin of the western fan deposit in Jezero crater, Mars and implications for future exploration
Mustard, John F.; Goudge, Timothy A.; Head, James W. +2 more
We examine the stratigraphic architecture and mineralogy of the western fan deposit in the Jezero crater paleolake on Mars to reassess whether this fan formed as a delta in a standing body of water, as opposed to by alluvial or debris flow processes. Analysis of topography and images reveals that the stratigraphically lowest layers within the fan …
Detection of Mg-spinel bearing central peaks using M3 images: Implications for the petrogenesis of Mg-spinel
Li, Lin; Sun, Ying; Zhang, Yuanzhi
Mg-spinel bearing lithologies, lacking abundant mafic materials, have been discovered with images acquired by the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) aboard Chandrayaan-1. We conducted a systematic screening of lunar crater central peaks for the presence of Mg-spinel to address its distribution and petrogenesis. 38 Mg-spinel bearing crater cent…
Recurrence rate and magma effusion rate for the latest volcanism on Arsia Mons, Mars
Richardson, Jacob A.; Wilson, James A.; Connor, Charles B. +2 more
Magmatism and volcanism have evolved the Martian lithosphere, surface, and climate throughout the history of Mars. Constraining the rates of magma generation and timing of volcanism on the surface clarifies the ways in which magma and volcanic activity have shaped these Martian systems. The ages of lava flows on other planets are often estimated u…
Surface roughness of Titan's hydrocarbon seas
Lorenz, Ralph D.; Cassini Radar Team; Elachi, Charles +6 more
We derive fields of solutions for the surface properties (roughness and permittivity) of the liquid hydrocarbon bodies Ligeia, Kraken and Punga Mare on Titan by applying the Radar Statistical Reconnaissance (RSR) technique to the Cassini RADAR observations in altimeter mode during the northern early summer. At the time of observation, Kraken and L…
Global permittivity mapping of the Martian surface from SHARAD
Mège, Daniel; Gurgurewicz, Joanna; Castaldo, Luigi +2 more
SHARAD is a subsurface sounding radar aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, capable of detecting dielectric discontinuities in the subsurface caused by compositional and/or structural changes. Echoes coming from the surface contain information on geometric properties at metre scale and on the permittivity of the upper layers of the Martian cr…
The Acheron Dorsum on Mars: A novel interpretation of its linear depressions and a model for its evolution
Martino, Salvatore; De Blasio, Fabio Vittorio
The Acheron Dorsum north of Olympus Mons on Mars is a unique 800 km-long arcuate ridge apparently unrelated to other adjacent morphologies. Acheron Dorsum is crossed by deep and wide fractures ("fossae", here referred to also as Linear Depressions or "LDs"), commonly interpreted as grabens formed by local lithosphere stress in response to endogeno…