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The freshest outflow channel, Floods in Athabasca Valles
SigurRosFan
post Apr 9 2006, 11:33 AM
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Release date: April 03, 2006

- http://themis.asu.edu/features/athabascafloods

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Based on the counts, however, the valley is between 2 million and 30 million years old. If true, that makes it the youngest outflow channel on Mars.

Estimates of the volume range from 10,000 to 10 million cubic meters per second. For comparison, the Mississippi River's flow averages 17,000 cubic meters per second.
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Athabasca Valles and Cerberus Fossae are one of my interesting places on Mars. I'm searching for images of this rootless cinder cones in the valley.


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Guest_Richard Trigaux_*
post Apr 9 2006, 12:02 PM
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This flow looks like if it was guided by one of these numerous low ripples we see in many parts of Mars, and wich ressemble cooling ripples we see on the Moon "seas". In the case of the Moon, these ripples are usually interpreted as consequence of the cooling of large and deep lava flows. But On Mars?


What is stunning is that this water seems to have erupted from a fault in the north east of athabasca valley. If you look at the infrared map (Google Mars, search for Athabasca) it is clear that flow marks are flowing out of it. At first these flow marks are just changes of colour on the ground, without visible erosion, but after erosion marks are very visible. Perhaps it is because if flowed first on rocky terrain (lava flows) and after on a sandy terrain. And again, the flow rate was very large, but during a short time.


That such a large water flow is getting out of the ground in a place where there is a large geological feature contradicts the usual model of a large watertable provoking water eruptions. This water seems to come out of much deeper in the ground, some kind of water volcanism. And the fault too must be recent and active. It seems to be a long one (hundreds of kilometres) and recent and active.


Also clearly visible in the bottom of the image are traces of a broken ice layer. Most probably there was ice forming on a mud flow (at this place the flow was calmer, and likely it gathered much of martian dust to form mud). Further movements broke the ice layer until all the thing settled with freezing. Then the pure ice sublimated, lefting these drawings where mud appeared between ice blocks.
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Posts in this topic
- SigurRosFan   The freshest outflow channel   Apr 9 2006, 11:33 AM
- - Bob Shaw   QUOTE (SigurRosFan @ Apr 9 2006, 12:33 PM...   Apr 9 2006, 11:47 AM
- - Richard Trigaux   This flow looks like if it was guided by one of th...   Apr 9 2006, 12:02 PM
- - SigurRosFan   Additional (2002) article: - http://www.marstoday...   Apr 9 2006, 12:53 PM
|- - Richard Trigaux   QUOTE (SigurRosFan @ Apr 9 2006, 12:53 PM...   Apr 9 2006, 04:16 PM
|- - helvick   QUOTE (Richard Trigaux @ Apr 9 2006, 04:1...   Apr 9 2006, 04:54 PM
- - lyford   This image is also fascinating: Streamlined mesa ...   Apr 9 2006, 05:25 PM
- - Richard Trigaux   What is much astonishing too is that there was lav...   Apr 9 2006, 06:29 PM


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