Mars - Olympus Mons
Volcanoes on Io
The USGS Astrogeology Science Center conducts research on planetary volcanology. Volcanism is a key part of the chemical and thermal evolution of planetary bodies, and volcanic eruptions are one of the fundamental processes that create and alter the surface of planetary bodies. We often study volcanoes on Earth in order to better understand eruptions across the Solar System, but we also bring lessons from extraterrestrial eruptions back to Earth.
Filter Total Items: 28
Modeling steam pressure under martian lava flows
Rootless cones on Mars are a valuable indicator of past interactions between lava and water. However, the details of the lava–water interactions are not fully understood, limiting the ability to use these features to infer new information about past water on Mars. We have developed a model for the pressurization of a dry layer of porous regolith by melting and boiling ground ice in the shallow sub
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi
Hydrovolcanic features on Mars: Preliminary analysis of one Mars year of HiRISE observations
We provide an overview of features indicative of the interaction between water and lava and/or magma on Mars as seen by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera during the Primary Science Phase of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission. The ability to confidently resolve meter-scale features from orbit has been extremely useful in the study of the most pristine example
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger, Colin M. Dundas, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Alfred S. McEwen, Moses P. Milazzo
Emplacement of the youngest flood lava on Mars: A short, turbulent story
Recently acquired data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), Context (CTX) imager, and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft were used to investigate the emplacement of the youngest flood-lava flow on Mars. Careful mapping finds that the Athabasca Valles flood lava is the product of a single eru
Authors
Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, James A. Skinner, Moses P. Milazzo, Alfred S. McEwen, Timothy N. Titus, Mark R. Rosiek, Donna M. Galuszka, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Randolph L. Kirk
High resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) images of volcanic terrains from the first 6 months of the Mars reconnaissance orbiter primary science phase
In the first 6 months of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Primary Science Phase, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera has returned images sampling the diversity of volcanic terrains on Mars. While many of these features were noted in earlier imaging, they are now seen with unprecedented clarity. We find that some volcanic vents produced predominantly effusive products wh
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger, Alfred S. McEwen, Livio L. Tornabene, Ross A. Beyer, Colin M. Dundas, Moses P. Milazzo
Comparison of flood lavas on Earth and Mars
Flood lavas, by definition, cover vast areas in great sheets of lava, without the construction of major edifices (e.g., Geikie, 1880; Washington, 1922; Tyrrell, 1937; Self et al., 1997). The flat terrain that flood lavas produce has led to the term “plateau volcanism” to be used as a synonym for flood volcanism. In addition, the classic erosion pattern of flood lavas leaves a series of topographic
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen
Evidence for and implications of sedimentary diapirism and mud volcanism in the southern Utopia highland-lowland boundary plain, Mars
Several types of spatially associated landforms in the southern Utopia Planitia highland–lowland boundary (HLB) plain appear to have resulted from localized geologic activity, including (1) fractured rises, (2) elliptical mounds, (3) pitted cones with emanating lobate materials, and (4) isolated and coalesced cavi (depressions). Stratigraphic analysis indicates these features are Hesperian or youn
Authors
James A. Skinner, Kenneth L. Tanaka
Athabasca Valles, Mars: A lava-draped channel system
Athabasca Valles is a young outflow channel system on Mars that may have been carved by catastrophic water floods. However, images acquired by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft reveal that Athabasca Valles is now entirely draped by a thin layer of solidified lava - the remnant of a once-swollen river of molten rock. The lava er
Authors
Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen, Colin M. Dundas, Paul C. Russell
Flood lavas on Earth, Io and Mars
Flood lavas are major geological features on all the major rocky planetary bodies. They provide important insight into the dynamics and chemistry of the interior of these bodies. On the Earth, they appear to be associated with major and mass extinction events. It is therefore not surprising that there has been significant research on flood lavas in recent years. Initial models suggested eruption d
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Stephen Self, Thorvaldur Thordarson
Icelandic analogs to Martian flood lavas
We report on new field observations from Icelandic lava flows that have the same surface morphology as many Martian flood lava flows. The Martian flood lavas are characterized by a platy‐ridged surface morphology whose formation is not well understood. The examples on Mars include some of the most pristine lava on the planet and flows >1500 km long. The surfaces of the flows are characterized by (
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Alfred McEwen, Henning Haack, Marie-Noelle Guilbaud, Stephen Self, Matti J. Rossi
Volcanism and ice interactions on Earth and Mars
Volcano/ice interactions produce meltwater. Meltwater can enter the groundwater cycle and under the influence of hydrothermal systems, it can be later discharged to form channels and valleys or cycled upward to melt permafrost. Water or ice-saturated ground can erupt into phreatic craters when covered by lava. Violent mixing of meltwater and volcanic material and rapid release can generate lahars
Authors
Mary G. Chapman, Carlton C. Allen, Magnus T. Gudmundsson, Virginia C. Gulick, Sveinn P. Jakobsson, Baerbel K. Lucchitta, Ian P. Skilling, Richard B. Waitt
Evidence for recent volcanism on mars from crater counts
Impact craters help characterize the age of a planetary surface, because they accumulate with time. They also provide useful constraints on the importance of surface erosion, as such processes will preferentially remove the smaller craters. Earlier studies of martian crater populations revealed that erosion and dust deposition are important processes on Mars. They disagreed, however, on the age of
Authors
W.K. Hartmann, M. Malin, A. McEwen, M. Carr, L. Soderblom, P. Thomas, E. Danielson, P. James, J. Veverka
Voluminous volcanism on early mars revealed in valles marineris
The relative rates and importance of impact cratering, volcanism, erosion, and the deposition of sediments to the early geological history of Mars are poorly known. That history is recorded in the upper crust of the planet, which is best exposed along the 4,000km-long canyon system called Valles Marineris. Previous studies of the stratigraphy of this region have assumed that it consists of megabre
Authors
A. S. McEwen, M. C. Malin, M. H. Carr, W.K. Hartmann
The USGS Astrogeology Science Center conducts research on planetary volcanology. Volcanism is a key part of the chemical and thermal evolution of planetary bodies, and volcanic eruptions are one of the fundamental processes that create and alter the surface of planetary bodies. We often study volcanoes on Earth in order to better understand eruptions across the Solar System, but we also bring lessons from extraterrestrial eruptions back to Earth.
Filter Total Items: 28
Modeling steam pressure under martian lava flows
Rootless cones on Mars are a valuable indicator of past interactions between lava and water. However, the details of the lava–water interactions are not fully understood, limiting the ability to use these features to infer new information about past water on Mars. We have developed a model for the pressurization of a dry layer of porous regolith by melting and boiling ground ice in the shallow sub
Authors
Colin M. Dundas, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi
Hydrovolcanic features on Mars: Preliminary analysis of one Mars year of HiRISE observations
We provide an overview of features indicative of the interaction between water and lava and/or magma on Mars as seen by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera during the Primary Science Phase of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) mission. The ability to confidently resolve meter-scale features from orbit has been extremely useful in the study of the most pristine example
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger, Colin M. Dundas, Sara Martinez-Alonso, Alfred S. McEwen, Moses P. Milazzo
Emplacement of the youngest flood lava on Mars: A short, turbulent story
Recently acquired data from the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), Context (CTX) imager, and Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) spacecraft were used to investigate the emplacement of the youngest flood-lava flow on Mars. Careful mapping finds that the Athabasca Valles flood lava is the product of a single eru
Authors
Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, James A. Skinner, Moses P. Milazzo, Alfred S. McEwen, Timothy N. Titus, Mark R. Rosiek, Donna M. Galuszka, Elpitha Howington-Kraus, Randolph L. Kirk
High resolution imaging science experiment (HiRISE) images of volcanic terrains from the first 6 months of the Mars reconnaissance orbiter primary science phase
In the first 6 months of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's Primary Science Phase, the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera has returned images sampling the diversity of volcanic terrains on Mars. While many of these features were noted in earlier imaging, they are now seen with unprecedented clarity. We find that some volcanic vents produced predominantly effusive products wh
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Windy L. Jaeger, Alfred S. McEwen, Livio L. Tornabene, Ross A. Beyer, Colin M. Dundas, Moses P. Milazzo
Comparison of flood lavas on Earth and Mars
Flood lavas, by definition, cover vast areas in great sheets of lava, without the construction of major edifices (e.g., Geikie, 1880; Washington, 1922; Tyrrell, 1937; Self et al., 1997). The flat terrain that flood lavas produce has led to the term “plateau volcanism” to be used as a synonym for flood volcanism. In addition, the classic erosion pattern of flood lavas leaves a series of topographic
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen
Evidence for and implications of sedimentary diapirism and mud volcanism in the southern Utopia highland-lowland boundary plain, Mars
Several types of spatially associated landforms in the southern Utopia Planitia highland–lowland boundary (HLB) plain appear to have resulted from localized geologic activity, including (1) fractured rises, (2) elliptical mounds, (3) pitted cones with emanating lobate materials, and (4) isolated and coalesced cavi (depressions). Stratigraphic analysis indicates these features are Hesperian or youn
Authors
James A. Skinner, Kenneth L. Tanaka
Athabasca Valles, Mars: A lava-draped channel system
Athabasca Valles is a young outflow channel system on Mars that may have been carved by catastrophic water floods. However, images acquired by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment camera onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft reveal that Athabasca Valles is now entirely draped by a thin layer of solidified lava - the remnant of a once-swollen river of molten rock. The lava er
Authors
Windy L. Jaeger, Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Alfred S. McEwen, Colin M. Dundas, Paul C. Russell
Flood lavas on Earth, Io and Mars
Flood lavas are major geological features on all the major rocky planetary bodies. They provide important insight into the dynamics and chemistry of the interior of these bodies. On the Earth, they appear to be associated with major and mass extinction events. It is therefore not surprising that there has been significant research on flood lavas in recent years. Initial models suggested eruption d
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Stephen Self, Thorvaldur Thordarson
Icelandic analogs to Martian flood lavas
We report on new field observations from Icelandic lava flows that have the same surface morphology as many Martian flood lava flows. The Martian flood lavas are characterized by a platy‐ridged surface morphology whose formation is not well understood. The examples on Mars include some of the most pristine lava on the planet and flows >1500 km long. The surfaces of the flows are characterized by (
Authors
Laszlo P. Keszthelyi, Thorvaldur Thordarson, Alfred McEwen, Henning Haack, Marie-Noelle Guilbaud, Stephen Self, Matti J. Rossi
Volcanism and ice interactions on Earth and Mars
Volcano/ice interactions produce meltwater. Meltwater can enter the groundwater cycle and under the influence of hydrothermal systems, it can be later discharged to form channels and valleys or cycled upward to melt permafrost. Water or ice-saturated ground can erupt into phreatic craters when covered by lava. Violent mixing of meltwater and volcanic material and rapid release can generate lahars
Authors
Mary G. Chapman, Carlton C. Allen, Magnus T. Gudmundsson, Virginia C. Gulick, Sveinn P. Jakobsson, Baerbel K. Lucchitta, Ian P. Skilling, Richard B. Waitt
Evidence for recent volcanism on mars from crater counts
Impact craters help characterize the age of a planetary surface, because they accumulate with time. They also provide useful constraints on the importance of surface erosion, as such processes will preferentially remove the smaller craters. Earlier studies of martian crater populations revealed that erosion and dust deposition are important processes on Mars. They disagreed, however, on the age of
Authors
W.K. Hartmann, M. Malin, A. McEwen, M. Carr, L. Soderblom, P. Thomas, E. Danielson, P. James, J. Veverka
Voluminous volcanism on early mars revealed in valles marineris
The relative rates and importance of impact cratering, volcanism, erosion, and the deposition of sediments to the early geological history of Mars are poorly known. That history is recorded in the upper crust of the planet, which is best exposed along the 4,000km-long canyon system called Valles Marineris. Previous studies of the stratigraphy of this region have assumed that it consists of megabre
Authors
A. S. McEwen, M. C. Malin, M. H. Carr, W.K. Hartmann