STRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF GANGES MENSA, MARS

Interior layered deposits are mesa-like structures that are scattered throughout Valles Marineris, Mars. The origin of these deposits is still ambiguous, even after preliminary study of Mars Global Surveyor data. Many theories have been proposed for their origin, the most likely being volcanism (subaqueous or subglacial) and lacustrine deposition.

Ganges Mensa, located at -7.5 N, -49.0 W in the middle of Ganges Chasma in eastern Valles Marineris, Mars, is approximately 100 km long, 50 km wide, and, in parts, stands 4 km high. Co-registering the Viking Mars Digital Image Map, 13 Mars Orbiter Camera swaths, and Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter data allowed examination of the deposits' stratigraphy. The Mensa is built of laterally continuous, horizontal layers marked by difference in albedo, slope angle, and weathering style. Current work has focused on 2 MOC swaths of a section on the south-facing side of the Mensa that have been used to create a stratigraphic column. Further analysis includes correlating the units to the remaining sections of the Mensa, comparison of the obvious differences in the appearance of the north and south faces, and further analysis of unit contacts. This impending, more detailed, investigation of the data will hopefully shed more light on the depositional environment of these deposits.