Ancient volcanic vent on Mars
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on May 28, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
The picture label describes it as a “Low Shield Vent and Pit Northeast of Arsia Mons,” suggesting these depressions are volcanic in nature. We know the pit in the lower left is not an impact crater because it has no raised rim of ejecta. Instead, it looks like a collapsed sinkhole, formed when the ceiling above a void could no longer support its weight. Similar, the trench to the northeast is aligned with the downhill grade to the northeast, with its features suggesting a vent draining in that direction.
The ample dust inside the trench and pit suggest that it has been a very long time since this vent was active. Research suggests volcanic activity last occurred in this region from 10 to 300 million years ago, so that gives us a rough estimate of this vent’s age. Since then any dust that is blown into it will tend to become trapped there.
The white rectangle on the inset on the right of the overview map shows the area covered by the picture above, with the white dot on the map marking the location, about 250 miles from the caldera center of the giant volcano Arsia Mons. The black dots mark locations of pits described here previously as cool images.
Another reason scientists probably consider this a volcanic vent is the topography. The vent is at the top of a low rise, suggesting it is basically a small shield volcano on the flanks of a gigantic shield volcano.
The inset also reveals one other puzzling geological feature. The dark streaks on the right are likely areas of dark volcanic material exposed because the ubiquitous Martian dust has been blown away for some reason. That its eastern edge aligns perfectly with that long southwest-northeast trending fissure strongly suggests air is coming out of that fissure and is then blown to the northwest by the prevailing winds. If so, that also suggests that there are extensive underground voids linked to that long fissure. In other words, this is evidence of hidden lava tubes of some length and size.
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Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, rotated, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on May 28, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO).
The picture label describes it as a “Low Shield Vent and Pit Northeast of Arsia Mons,” suggesting these depressions are volcanic in nature. We know the pit in the lower left is not an impact crater because it has no raised rim of ejecta. Instead, it looks like a collapsed sinkhole, formed when the ceiling above a void could no longer support its weight. Similar, the trench to the northeast is aligned with the downhill grade to the northeast, with its features suggesting a vent draining in that direction.
The ample dust inside the trench and pit suggest that it has been a very long time since this vent was active. Research suggests volcanic activity last occurred in this region from 10 to 300 million years ago, so that gives us a rough estimate of this vent’s age. Since then any dust that is blown into it will tend to become trapped there.
The white rectangle on the inset on the right of the overview map shows the area covered by the picture above, with the white dot on the map marking the location, about 250 miles from the caldera center of the giant volcano Arsia Mons. The black dots mark locations of pits described here previously as cool images.
Another reason scientists probably consider this a volcanic vent is the topography. The vent is at the top of a low rise, suggesting it is basically a small shield volcano on the flanks of a gigantic shield volcano.
The inset also reveals one other puzzling geological feature. The dark streaks on the right are likely areas of dark volcanic material exposed because the ubiquitous Martian dust has been blown away for some reason. That its eastern edge aligns perfectly with that long southwest-northeast trending fissure strongly suggests air is coming out of that fissure and is then blown to the northwest by the prevailing winds. If so, that also suggests that there are extensive underground voids linked to that long fissure. In other words, this is evidence of hidden lava tubes of some length and size.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
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