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Arcadia Planitia

Coordinates: 47°12′N 184°18′E / 47.2°N 184.3°E / 47.2; 184.3
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Arcadia Planitia
Topographic map of Arcadia Planitia
Feature typePlains
Coordinates47°12′N 184°18′E / 47.2°N 184.3°E / 47.2; 184.3

Arcadia Planitia is a smooth plain with fresh lava flows and Amazonian volcanic flows on Mars. It was named by Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1882 after the Arcadia region of ancient Greece. It dates from the Amazonian period's Arcadia formation's lava flows and small cinder cones. It includes a more recently developed large region of aeolian materials derived from periglacial processes.

It is located northwest of the Tharsis region in the northern lowlands, spanning roughly the region 33.9–64.2° North and 165.9–210.4° East, straddling partly in the Cebrenia quadrangle (MC-07), and partly in the Diacria one (MC-02), and centered at 47°12′N 184°18′E / 47.2°N 184.3°E / 47.2; 184.3.[1] Arcadia marks a transition from the thinly cratered terrain to its north and the very old cratered terrain to the south. On its east it runs into the Alba Mons volcanoes. Its elevation relative to the geodetic datum varies between 0 and -3 km.[2]

Many low-lying areas of Arcadia are marked by grooves and sub-parallel ridges. These features indicate glaciation and appear similar to those on Earth, where the freezing and thawing of water located between ground layers contributes to the slow flow of near-surface materials. This supports the proposition that ground ice exists in the near-surface of Arcadia Planitia, and therefore this location is an area of interest for potential exploration missions.[3]

Expanded craters

Main article: Expanded crater

Large impacts often create swarms of small secondary craters from the debris that is blasted out as a consequence of the impact. Studies of a type of secondary craters, called expanded craters, have given us insights into places where abundant ice may be present in the ground.[4] Expanded craters have lost their rims, which may be because any rim that was once present has collapsed into the crater during expansion or lost its ice if composed of ice.

Excess ice (ice in addition to what is in the pores of the ground) is widespread throughout the Martian mid-latitudes, especially in Arcadia Planitia. In this region are many expanded secondary craters that probably form from impacts that destabilize a subsurface layer of excess ice, which subsequently sublimates. With sublimation, the ice changes directly from a solid to gaseous form. In the impact, the excess ice is broken up, resulting in an increase in surface area. Ice will sublimate much more if there is more surface area. After the ice disappears into the atmosphere, dry soil material will collapse and cause the crater diameter to become larger.[5] Places on Mars that display expanded craters may indicate where future colonists can find water ice.

  • Close view of expanded craters, as seen by HiRISE. After the impact, ice left the ground and widened the crater's diameter.
    Close view of expanded craters, as seen by HiRISE. After the impact, ice left the ground and widened the crater's diameter.

Gullies

Martian gullies are small, incised networks of narrow channels and their associated downslope sediment deposits, found on the planet of Mars. They are named for their resemblance to terrestrial gullies. First discovered on images from Mars Global Surveyor, they occur on steep slopes, especially on the walls of craters. Usually, each gully has a dendritic alcove at its head, a fan-shaped apron at its base, and a single thread of incised channel linking the two, giving the whole gully an hourglass shape.[6] They are believed to be relatively young because they have few, if any craters. A subclass of gullies is also found cut into the faces of sand dunes which themselves considered to be quite young. On the basis of their form, aspects, positions, and location amongst and apparent interaction with features thought to be rich in water ice, many researchers believed that the processes carving the gullies involve liquid water. However, this remains a topic of active research. The pictures below show gullies in Arcadia Planitia.

  • MOLA map showing boundaries for part of Arcadia Planitia and other regions
    MOLA map showing boundaries for part of Arcadia Planitia and other regions
  • Wide view of group of gullies, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. Note that part of this image is enlarged in the following image.
    Wide view of group of gullies, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. Note that part of this image is enlarged in the following image.
  • Close-up of gullies, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. Arrow points to streamlined features. This enlarged view shows an excellent view of polygons which are common where ice-rich ground freezes and thaws.
    Close-up of gullies, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program. Arrow points to streamlined features. This enlarged view shows an excellent view of polygons which are common where ice-rich ground freezes and thaws.
  • Arcadia Planitia
    Arcadia Planitia

Interactive Mars map

Map of MarsAcheron FossaeAcidalia PlanitiaAlba MonsAmazonis PlanitiaAonia PlanitiaArabia TerraArcadia PlanitiaArgentea PlanumArgyre PlanitiaChryse PlanitiaClaritas FossaeCydonia MensaeDaedalia PlanumElysium MonsElysium PlanitiaGale craterHadriaca PateraHellas MontesHellas PlanitiaHesperia PlanumHolden craterIcaria PlanumIsidis PlanitiaJezero craterLomonosov craterLucus PlanumLycus SulciLyot craterLunae PlanumMalea PlanumMaraldi craterMareotis FossaeMareotis TempeMargaritifer TerraMie craterMilankovič craterNepenthes MensaeNereidum MontesNilosyrtis MensaeNoachis TerraOlympica FossaeOlympus MonsPlanum AustralePromethei TerraProtonilus MensaeSirenumSisyphi PlanumSolis PlanumSyria PlanumTantalus FossaeTempe TerraTerra CimmeriaTerra SabaeaTerra SirenumTharsis MontesTractus CatenaTyrrhena TerraUlysses PateraUranius PateraUtopia PlanitiaValles MarinerisVastitas BorealisXanthe Terra
The image above contains clickable linksInteractive image map of the global topography of Mars. Hover your mouse over the image to see the names of over 60 prominent geographic features, and click to link to them. Coloring of the base map indicates relative elevations, based on data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor. Whites and browns indicate the highest elevations (+12 to +8 km); followed by pinks and reds (+8 to +3 km); yellow is 0 km; greens and blues are lower elevations (down to −8 km). Axes are latitude and longitude; Polar regions are noted.


See also

References

  1. ^ "Arcadia Planitia". Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. USGS Astrogeology Science Center. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  2. ^ R. Greeley, "Arcadia Planitia" Archived March 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine URL accessed July 31, 2006.
  3. ^ Hibbard, Shannon M.; Williams, Nathan R.; Golombek, Matthew P.; Osinski, Gordon R.; Godin, Etienne (1 May 2021). "Evidence for widespread glaciation in Arcadia Planitia, Mars". Icarus. 359: 114298. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2020.114298. ISSN 0019-1035. S2CID 234181075.
  4. ^ "Expanded Secondary Craters as Evidence for Ancient Subsurface Ice" (PDF). HiRISE. University of Arizona. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  5. ^ Viola, D., et al. 2014. EXPANDED CRATERS IN ARCADIA PLANITIA: EVIDENCE FOR >20 MYR OLD SUBSURFACE ICE. Eighth International Conference on Mars (2014). 1022pdf.
  6. ^ Malin, M., Edgett, K. 2000. Evidence for recent groundwater seepage and surface runoff on Mars. Science 288, 2330–2335.
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