MORPHOLOGY AND PROCESS-BASED IMPLICATIONS OF MARTIAN RIDGES AND TERRESTRIAL ESKERS

Sinuous ridges on the martian surface in regions such as Dorsa Argentea, Phlegra Montes, Argyre Planitia and Tempe Terra have been subject to multiple interpretations. Glaciation and subglacial hydrology are possible formative reasons due to the apparent layered nature of deposits, trends in ridge height variance in relation to surface slope, and variations in crest morphologies, aligning with observations of terrestrial eskers; however, the interpretation does not necessarily preclude alternative genetic environments. If these ridges are eskers, they would indicate liquid water was once present on Mars in the form of tunnels of subglacial meltwater capable of transporting sediment and water downstream to the ice margin; thus, they would be extremely useful in understanding the dynamics of martian glacial bodies and should have similar morphology compared to those of eskers on Earth. In this work, existing large datasets of eskers from terrestrial deglaciated landscapes in the northern hemisphere will be analyzed to identify esker morphometrics from Earth’s glacial systems. Publicly available Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and topographic data will be utilized to identify and/or quantitatively investigate the form of potential eskers. These ridges will then be analyzed for the same morphometric values as those on Earth’s surface including 1) esker sinuosity, 2) overall form, 3) amplitude, 4) length, and 5) width. This direct comparison will test whether the geometry of martian ridges is consistent with that of a terrestrial esker. The inclusion of quantitative morphometrics would improve understanding of the geologic and glacial controls on esker formation, highlight the utility of sinuosity and ridge characteristics as parameters that provide information on subglacial channel processes, and expand understanding of geomorphological processes and glaciation on Mars’ surface. The data from this work will be uploaded to publicly accessible websites in order to contribute to ongoing research in the greater scientific community.