Ice-filled Martian sinkhole
Cool image time! The pit shown in the high resolution photo to the right (image rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here) was taken on January 25, 2021 and labeled by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) “Collapse Pit in Graben with Ice Fill.”
There is a lot of information in that title. First, a graben is a geological feature where a section of terrain drops relative to the surrounding terrain, producing a depression. Second, it appears the graben in this region is mostly filled with debris, probably wind-blown dust or sand or volcanic ash.
Third, at this particular spot the filling material sank, like a sinkhole on Earth, creating the pit.
And fourth, and maybe most intriguing, the scientists think that this pit is now filled with ice. At 47 degrees north latitude, the location is prime for such ice, and the interior material resembles similar glacial features seen in many other mid-latitude craters.
The black box in the overview map to the right marks the location of this pit. Note the long fissures running to the northeast from the shield volcano Alba Mons. It is thought as this volcano bulged upward, it caused these fissures as the ground expanded by the pressure from below. The fissures are the graben referenced above.
Though the fissure at this location is mostly filled, the sinkhole suggests that there may be voids below. If so, there is the chance that an underground facility could be build here, protected from radiation and the harsh swings of temperature on the surface. Digging into it and creating a stable habitat within it might not be easy, however, as the fill material is likely structurally weak. It might be like trying to build something permanent in the sand of a beach.
Or not. We really don’t have a good handle on the properties of the material here. All this image really tells us again is that there is ice readily available in the mid-latitudes of Mars.
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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.
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Cool image time! The pit shown in the high resolution photo to the right (image rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here) was taken on January 25, 2021 and labeled by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) “Collapse Pit in Graben with Ice Fill.”
There is a lot of information in that title. First, a graben is a geological feature where a section of terrain drops relative to the surrounding terrain, producing a depression. Second, it appears the graben in this region is mostly filled with debris, probably wind-blown dust or sand or volcanic ash.
Third, at this particular spot the filling material sank, like a sinkhole on Earth, creating the pit.
And fourth, and maybe most intriguing, the scientists think that this pit is now filled with ice. At 47 degrees north latitude, the location is prime for such ice, and the interior material resembles similar glacial features seen in many other mid-latitude craters.
The black box in the overview map to the right marks the location of this pit. Note the long fissures running to the northeast from the shield volcano Alba Mons. It is thought as this volcano bulged upward, it caused these fissures as the ground expanded by the pressure from below. The fissures are the graben referenced above.
Though the fissure at this location is mostly filled, the sinkhole suggests that there may be voids below. If so, there is the chance that an underground facility could be build here, protected from radiation and the harsh swings of temperature on the surface. Digging into it and creating a stable habitat within it might not be easy, however, as the fill material is likely structurally weak. It might be like trying to build something permanent in the sand of a beach.
Or not. We really don’t have a good handle on the properties of the material here. All this image really tells us again is that there is ice readily available in the mid-latitudes of Mars.
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.
I’m seeing a hill, not a pit. The shadows don’t seem to match up with the indented ring to right. I trust that you are correct, but it looks strange.
mrsizer: If you download the image and turn it upside down the pit will likely become evident to you. This phenomenon is an optical illusion caused I think by where we think the sunlight is coming from. Your mind is insisting the light comes from the east, when it really is coming from the west.