Geomorphology of Gale Crater, Rock on! |
Geomorphology of Gale Crater, Rock on! |
Sep 26 2012, 10:22 PM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
I'd like a discussion thread about the geology detatched from the time limits of current MSL threads. We had a 'Geomorphology of Cape York' thread that attracted a lot of interesting posts. How about 'Geomorphology of Gale Crater'? I have one or two ideas but many more questions, and I'd like to post them in a longer-running thread away from the day to day imaging discussion. Any other takers?
For starters, does anybody have a contour map of this place like the one at Meridiani with 5m intervals? ADMIN: You have your wishes fulfilled on UMSF (sometimes) |
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Sep 27 2012, 09:16 PM
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 85 Joined: 5-September 12 Member No.: 6635 |
Also note that Curiosity is sitting on or very near the lowest spot on the planet (outside of Hellas).
How did it get that way ? There are far larger craters along the global dichotomy. I suspect that the uniqueness of Mt. Sharp and the fact that it is immediately adjacent to this global low spot ... is not a coincidence |
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Sep 29 2012, 01:34 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 866 Joined: 15-March 05 From: Santa Cruz, CA Member No.: 196 |
Also note that Curiosity is sitting on or very near the lowest spot on the planet (outside of Hellas). ... i'd always thought Hellas was an ancient ancient impact resulting in a sort of unsuspecting ocean basin much later, though i don't know if theres much evidence of that. Makes me wonder on how much Gale's similarly lower elevation affected atmospheric pressure back during that thicker warmer atmosphere? im curious what models might suggest as far as atmospheric pressure at Gale vs the mean elevation during that time and if it makes sense to expect that to have much impact on making a Gale lake more habitable. Or the processional inclination at the time might have kept the Gale interior iced over with Vostok-style lake beneath but probably heated by plenty of geothermal activity. how much glaciation and erosion of the crater walls would be expected under that scenario and if extensive, could evidence of that type have been erased by now. ok, too many stray hairs, i wont even get started on Mt Sharp, its all too enigmatic.. |
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