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Recent climate-related deposits in the southern hemisphere of Mars:

Recent climate-related deposits in the southern hemisphere of Mars: A key class of landing site environments for MSL. M.A. Kreskavsky, J.L. Dickson, C.I. Fassett, J.W. Head, J.B. Madeleine and M.I. Ivanov (Brown University). Evidence for recent deposition of

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Recent climate-related deposits in the southern hemisphere of Mars:

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  1. Recent climate-related deposits in the southern hemisphere of Mars: A key class of landing site environments for MSL. M.A. Kreskavsky, J.L. Dickson, C.I. Fassett, J.W. Head, J.B. Madeleine and M.I. Ivanov (Brown University)

  2. Evidence for recent deposition of volatiles in the southern mid-latitudes • Viscous Flow Features • Gullies • Patterned Ground • Dissected Mantles

  3. These features occur in distinctive latitude bands Milliken et al., JGR 2003

  4. North-South Topographic Slope Asymmetry • Evidence for insolation-related erosion at high obliquity. • Occurs in same distinctive bands. • Appear related to water-ice processes.

  5. Motivation for examining the southern mid-latitudes • The southern mid-latitude highlands are generally Noachian in age, but have undergone significant modification then and throughout the Hesperian and Amazonian. • This provides a unique opportunity to examine hydrologic and biologic potential of a site through the majority of martian history. • Examine one potential site example.

  6. Potential site example • Unnamed, 50 km diameter crater at 49°S, 14°E. • Interior layered deposits.

  7. Potential site example • Crater floor is flat (no slopes > 5° at MOLA gridded resolution.

  8. Potential site example • Southern part of crater is host to a layered mesa, presumably sedimentary in origin, with easily accessible outcrops at the crater floor. V15340003/ V15028004

  9. Potential site example • Mantled slopes and recent gullies show evidence for recent modification. M04/00235 M04/00235

  10. Potential site example • Crater floor also hosts dark dunes and light-toned outcrops that would be accessible for MSL. M04/00235

  11. Southern Mid-Latitude Highlands Climate-related deposits in southern hemisphere offer key opportunities to fulfill MSL objectives: - Assess the biological potential of at least one target environment. - Characterize the geology and geochemistry of the landing region. - Investigate planetary processes of relevance to past habitability 2. This type of environment spans climate change history from the Noachian to the Amazonian, increasing the likelihood of detection of a habitable environment. 3. The sedimentary deposits observed at this type of environment are consistent with those described as having “significant potential to preserve organic compounds” by Golombek and Grotzinger (this conference).

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