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Hydrothermal Sites in Apollinaris Chaos

Hydrothermal Sites in Apollinaris Chaos. Virginia Gulick NASA Ames/SETI Institute. Hydrothermal/fluvial sites near Apollinaris Patera Proposed by Gulick (1999, 2001); Nelson et al. (1999) Cannot fit new larger error ellipse Nearby acceptable sites offer similar advantages.

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Hydrothermal Sites in Apollinaris Chaos

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  1. Hydrothermal Sites in Apollinaris Chaos Virginia Gulick NASA Ames/SETI Institute • Hydrothermal/fluvial sites near Apollinaris Patera • Proposed by Gulick (1999, 2001); Nelson et al. (1999) • Cannot fit new larger error ellipse • Nearby acceptable sites offer similar advantages

  2. Thermal Energy Source Apollinaris Patera 8.5°S, 186°W Long-lived magmatic energy sources/hydrothermal systems Evidence for abundant water until late Amazonian Thermal spring/volcanic deposits Rapid burial (ash, lava, flood), mineralization and concentration Highland/Lowland Fluvial deposits from Ma’adim Valles Lobate crater ejecta/Chaotic terrain Noachian, Hesperian, Amazonian deposits and outcrops

  3. Geology of Apollinaris Ha1 Ha3 Ha2 Hchp Hcht Nm Ha4 350 km after Scott et al. 1993

  4. Evidence for Groundwater • Lobate ejecta blankets on small craters on flank above escarpment • Chaos zones W of volcano 1.8 km W. flank of Apollinaris

  5. Volcano-groundwater/ice Interactions Volcanic intrusions: perturb local thermal environment for ~108 years, mobilize groundwater, spring/seep discharges, thin permafrost

  6. Regional Context • Volcano lies S. of Elysium basin & astride highland/lowland boundary • Northward flow from Gusev and other valleys • Volcanic & impact thermal anomalies • Many craters w/lobate ejecta • Signs of volcano-ground ice interaction • No MOC coverage currently EP57A EP58A EP59A

  7. Accessible by both landers Site 2 Site 1

  8. Hydrothermal/Hydrological Aspects • Local basin • ~1 to 2 volcano radii from Apollinaris • Adjacent to chaos regions Gusev & Ma’adim Vallis flows

  9. Appearance in MOC

  10. Apollinaris RegionSmooth, flat, low elevation

  11. Science Objectives • Sample and characterize rocks and deposits emplaced by fluvial processes from the highlands. • Sample and characterize lowlands materials, chaos deposits, and volcanic, fluvial and possible hydrothermal deposits from Apollinaris Patera.

  12. MER ‘03 Engineering Constraints Parameter Constraint Apollinaris Chaos sites Thermal Inertia (cgs) 5-10 cgs 5.9 cgs  Rock Abundance < 20% 0 - 10%  Fine Comp. TI >3 to 4 cgs 4.6 (TES)  > 3 (IRTM)  Slopes <15 deg. <2 deg.  Albedo low 0.26-0.28  Elevation (MOLA) <-1.3 km -2.2 km Obstacles smooth & flat generally very smooth, flat some 20 m knobs few 100 m cliffs at margin

  13. Conclusions • Hydrothermal sites meet engineering constraints • Variety of terrain types & ages (Hchp, Hcht, volcanic, and highland rocks) in compact region • Variety of geologic environments can potentially be sampled (fluvial, paleolacustrine, H/L, volcanic, hydrothermal) • Long-lived hydrothermal environments (volcano & impact) • Abundant evidence for groundwater/groundice • Nice site for astrobiological exploration

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