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GSA Connects 2022 meeting in Denver, Colorado

Paper No. 156-4
Presentation Time: 8:55 AM

FURTHER EVIDENCE FOR ANCIENT EXPLOSIVE VOLCANISM IN NORTHERN ARABIA TERRA, MARS


FANSON, Grace, School of Earth and Atmospheric Science, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0340, WRAY, James, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0340, RIVERA-HERNANDEZ, Frances, School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 311 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332-0340, HUGHES, Emily B., Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA 30332 and MATIELLA NOVAK, Alexandra, Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD 20723

Over 70% of the Martian crust has been resurfaced by basaltic volcanism, with a significant fraction not accounted for by recognized volcanic sources. This discrepancy has motivated searches to find other sources, such as in the Arabia Terra region, hypothesized by [1] to contain ancient volcanic calderas that were previously thought to be impact craters. By using spectroscopy, we can determine the composition of the region surrounding the proposed volcanoes. Finding minerals consistent with altered volcanic material, as recently reported by [2] across a broad swath of northern Mars, would support the hypothesis of ancient volcanoes in Arabia Terra.

To identify the minerology of Arabia Terra, we analyzed images from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM), a visible/near-infrared hyperspectral mapping instrument aboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. We searched for several mineral types known to occur in altered volcaniclastic materials, including hydrated/opaline silica, smectites, zeolites, and sulfates. We have identified several new locations with silica deposits near the proposed volcanoes, with some occurring in or near depressions that could be previously unrecognized calderas. Spectral analysis of the silica deposits is ongoing, as their detailed characteristics can help to elucidate mode(s) of origin and subsequent alteration. Additional planned work will incorporate complementary datasets including high-resolution imagery and topography, and thermal inertia to assess the deposits’ consistency with a volcaniclastic origin.

These additional examples of hydrated silica immediately surrounding proposed calderas supports the claims that there could have been explosive volcanoes in the Arabia Terra region of Mars. The presence of large, ancient volcanoes in Arabia Terra has major implications for Mars’ geological and atmospheric history, subsurface environments, and thus the history of habitability on Mars.

[1] Michalski J. R. & Bleacher J. E. (2013), Nature 502, 47-52. [2] Whelley P. et al. (2021), GRL 48, e2021GL094109.

Session No. 156

T94. Geomorphology and Landscape Evolution of Mars
Tuesday, 11 October 2022: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
501 (Colorado Convention Center)
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol 54, No. 5
doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-380207
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