GEOSPACE REMOTE ANALYSIS TEAM: VIRTUALLY EXPLORING VOLCANIC ANALOGS FOR THE MOON AND MARS

Combined remote and in-field analysis of Earth and other planetary bodies is key to understanding surface processes and evolution throughout our Solar System. The GeoSPACE Field Program (NSF Award 2023124) offers the opportunity for both in-field and fully remote students to study volcanic features in north-central Arizona as terrestrial analogs for planetary volcanism. The fully remote team applied remote sensing to compile preliminary observations into mission control briefings to spur research questions for in-field investigation. Our remote team study focused on volcanic vents in the San Francisco Volcanic Field (SFVF) outside Flagstaff, AZ, specifically sites with analogous properties to features on Mars and the Moon, including cinder cones, lava flows, spatter cones, tuff rings, and other phreatomagmatic eruptions. For our “initial mission” (during the field program), we focused remote sensing analyses on V185, SP crater, and other volcanic analog sites. V185 is a cinder pit quarry that exposes a tuff ring with evidence of phreatomagmatic activity. SP crater is a well-preserved cinder cone with a 7.85 km lava flow toward the north of the vent. We apply orbital reflectance and airborne emission data to identify changes in composition, along with temperature and radar data to infer surface roughness and particle size. Changes in compositional and physical properties can imply relative age of emplacement processes and later modifications by erosion and deposition. In-field investigators assessed SP crater for mineralogy and morphology, which we further compared to spectroscopy of Martian volcanic features. Our “extended mission” (after the field program) focuses on analysis of Thermal Emission Imaging System and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer data at locations on Mars that reflect similar morphology to volcanism in SFVF, specifically Ulysses Colles and Fossae within the Tharsis region, as an analog to SP crater. Based on similar composition and morphology, we propose a gradual and comparable progression of an explosive to effusive eruption at SP crater and features within Ulysses Colles.

For more information on the GeoSPACE program and findings, search “GeoSPACE” in the conference abstracts.