Geomorphology of Gale Crater, Rock on! Options

[ngunn]

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)

[serpens]

I don't feel there is any contradiction with the Gale crater sediment requiring millions to tens of millions of years to form in warm, humid conditions and some of the carbonates within that sediment possibly being formed in icy conditions. For the last 3 million years or so Earth has experience cyclical glaciation with shorter, warm and humid interglacials, initially on a 41 kyr cycle and then, for currently unknown reasons, switching to a 100kyr period. Even during interglacials there are significant temperature variations. It would probably be more surprising if there were no indications of temperature variability.