Downstream Variations of Martian Channels and Implications for Climate Evolution and Habitability
- Paper number
IAC-06-A1.6.06
- Author
Mr. Sanjoy Som, University of Washington, United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
The topic of whether or not Mars was once a habitable environment suitable for the development of life as we know it is still extremely controversial. The question essentially boils down to whether or not water was stable on the surface for a sustained period of time, suitable to create a habitable environment for life to diversify and evolve microbially to an extent that a (cataclysmic? gradual?) change in this environment would not cause extermination of all strains of life, but survival “of the fittest” in a yet undiscovered haven. The Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs) have found evidence that Mars has had surface water chemistry occur in its past. However, to understand whether the whole planet was suitable for thermodynamically stable liquid water, one must look at a larger scale than that allowed by the MERs. In the current work, we quantify the downstream variation of fluvial-like features on Mars by combining data from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) and the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) onboard the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft (MGS) into a GIS environment. Terrestrial channels are carved by atmospherically fed precipitation and have unique trends in downstream variation (bed concavity, width evolution with drainage area…). Recognizing those trends on Mars could yield important implications in their formation history, and as a corollary, give valuable information on the overlying atmosphere and water availability during formation. A constrained knowledge of the environment of formation of the fluvial-like features will help quantify as to whether or not Mars had an environment conducive to the origin of life and its sustenance.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-A1.6.06.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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