FIELD INVESTIGATION OF SHORELINE BARRIER RIDGES FROM GLACIAL LAKES IN NEVADA, AS ANALOGS FOR POTENTIAL PLUVIAL LANDFORMS ON MARS

In April, 2005, a field investigation of several shoreline barrier ridges was conducted in the northern end of Spring Valley and the southern end of Long Valley, in eastern Nevada. Both valleys were the sites of substantial glacial lakes during the last glaciation, and in the case of Long Valley also the penultimate glacial period. Well-preserved barrier ridges are present in both valleys, consisting of broad, gently sloped topographic ridges parallel to present topographic contours. We obtained several Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) topographic transects across the high-stand barrier ridge, as well as several adjacent barrier ridges, in both valleys. We also obtained photo-documentation of the surface sediments at many survey points along each transect. Here we will report on both the topographic and surface sedimentological characteristics of the barrier ridges examined in Nevada, and make some inferences on how similar features may appear in the imaging and remote sensing data sets currently available for Mars.