Home Plate Speculations, Get it in now, before we know the truth! Options

[CosmicRocker]

Although we know little about the lower unit of alternating harder and softer layers, we know the the upper section is a cross-laminated sediment. It seems difficult to think of HP as an "exhumed crater floor filled with typical Columbia Hills layered deposits, a tuff cone or maar, (or) a hydrothermal vent area," unless you want to imagine it as one of those things with sediments on top of it. It seems simpler to consider it a remnant of a once more continuous sedimentary section. The other, more exotic things seem to be unneccesary complications.

I can't rule out the possibility that these sediments originated as a crater fill, but I think we need to see other sides of HP, as well as the top, to learn more about that possibility. It sounds to me as if those interviewed for that article knew more than they were willing to admit at the time.

[alan]

Are those deposits along a fracture in this image?
http://qt.exploratorium.edu/mars/spirit/pa...55P2271R1M1.JPG

[Bill Harris]

I noticed that fracture fill this morning. It looks quite pronounced when viewed with the corresponding L7 as a stereo pair.

Also, notice the rounded pebbles at the top of the slope that do not look ventifact-like.

--Bill

[Guest_Sunspot_*]

Hmmm... what happened to todays pictures? According to the tracking site some of them are on the ground??

[RNeuhaus]

Although we know little about the lower unit of alternating harder and softer layers, we know the the upper section is a cross-laminated sediment.  It seems difficult to think of HP as an "exhumed crater floor filled with typical Columbia Hills layered deposits, a tuff cone or maar, (or) a hydrothermal vent area," unless you want to imagine it as one of those things with sediments on top of it.  It seems simpler to consider it a remnant of a once more continuous sedimentary section.  The other, more exotic things seem to be unneccesary complications.

I can't rule out the possibility that these sediments originated as a crater fill, but I think we need to see other sides of HP, as well as the top, to learn more about that possibility.  It sounds to me as if those interviewed for that article knew more than they were willing to admit at the time.

Tom:

Have you ever take into the account the influence of nerby volcano: Apollinarium Patera at about 100-150 km nortwestern from Columbia and Husband Hills. Around the volcan, usually has subsurface water which might be steaming out. The highest activity of volcano has ocurred during the Amazonia epochs, such as the Olympus has erupted since 200 millions years ago.

Rodolfo

[CosmicRocker]

Rodolfo: I suppose that volcano could have generated steam in the past which might have travelled some distance from the volcano. All I was suggesting above was that there seems to be no need to hypothesize such a thing for Home Plate, since we now see Home Plate closely and it seems to be largely, if not completely composed of sediments.

[Guest_Edward Schmitz_*]

Smiles?

In the lower left corner of this image, I see what looks like the type of crossbedding that was so exciting in eagle crater.