In the midst of Mars’ volcano country
Click for full image.
Cool image time! While the rest of the world is entirely focused on panic and disease, I am going to go on with my life. The photo to the right, rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here, was taken by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on December 26, 2019. I suspected this channel was lava, and when I asked Colin Dundas of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Science Center in Arizona, he confirmed my suspicion.
Yes, that surface appears to be lava–it is part of the Elysium plains, which have many geologically-young lava flows. It’s likely that the channel is a lava channel, and the surrounding plains may be from an earlier stage of the same eruption.
The entire surface of the channel and the surrounding plains appear very fresh, mostly because of their smoothness and lack of many craters. You can also see what looks like a recent impact (the small dark splotch near the left edge about two-thirds from the top).
The fresh and smooth look of Elysium Planitia generally has led scientists to conclude that much of this region is formed from lava flows, some relatively recently. Thus, this particular lava channel is smack dab in the middle of Mars’ volcano country, quite vast and extensive. The context map below illustrates this.
The blue cross on the overview map below shows this image’s location. The Medusae Fossae Formation, indicated by the areas outlined by black lines, is an area covered by volcanic ash, thought to have been released during one or more violent volcanic eruptions. It covers an area comparable to the size of India or Kazakhstan. The bluish splotch to the west of the cross and just north of the western Medusae ash deposits is what some scientists believe [pdf] is the youngest lava field on Mars, dubbed the Athabasca Valles flood lava. To quote this linked paper’s abstract:
Careful mapping finds that the Athabasca Valles flood lava is the product of a single eruption, and it covers 250,000 [square kilometers] of western Elysium Planitia with an estimated 5000–7500 [cubic kilometers] of mafic or ultramafic lava. Calculations utilizing topographic data enhanced with MRO observations to refine the dimensions of the channel system show that this flood lava was emplaced turbulently over a period of only a few to several weeks. [emphasis mine]
That’s a flood plain as large as the entire United Kingdom, laid down in only a few weeks.
As this channel and Elysium Planitia are located between the giant volcanoes Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons, it isn’t surprising that we find both lava flows and vast ash deposits here. The Athabasca Valles lava flood however is not directly linked to either volcano, but to a specific lava upwelling at this location. In fact, the research suggests that there are several similar large lava flows all across Elysium Planitia.
Moreover, Elysium Planitia is also where we find the cracks of Cerberus Fossae, created by the upward pressure of magma. This region is also where the seismometer on the InSight lander has pinpointed the location of several earthquakes.
These facts suggest that new volcanic activity in Elysium Fossae might still be possible. We have no evidence of this so far, though the young estimated age of this flood plain (anywhere from half a million to ten million years ago) certainly does not preclude it.
The support of my readers through the years has given 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. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
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. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to 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.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five 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:
5. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
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c/o Robert Zimmerman
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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. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
Click for full image.
Cool image time! While the rest of the world is entirely focused on panic and disease, I am going to go on with my life. The photo to the right, rotated, cropped, and reduced to post here, was taken by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on December 26, 2019. I suspected this channel was lava, and when I asked Colin Dundas of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Astrogeology Science Center in Arizona, he confirmed my suspicion.
Yes, that surface appears to be lava–it is part of the Elysium plains, which have many geologically-young lava flows. It’s likely that the channel is a lava channel, and the surrounding plains may be from an earlier stage of the same eruption.
The entire surface of the channel and the surrounding plains appear very fresh, mostly because of their smoothness and lack of many craters. You can also see what looks like a recent impact (the small dark splotch near the left edge about two-thirds from the top).
The fresh and smooth look of Elysium Planitia generally has led scientists to conclude that much of this region is formed from lava flows, some relatively recently. Thus, this particular lava channel is smack dab in the middle of Mars’ volcano country, quite vast and extensive. The context map below illustrates this.
The blue cross on the overview map below shows this image’s location. The Medusae Fossae Formation, indicated by the areas outlined by black lines, is an area covered by volcanic ash, thought to have been released during one or more violent volcanic eruptions. It covers an area comparable to the size of India or Kazakhstan. The bluish splotch to the west of the cross and just north of the western Medusae ash deposits is what some scientists believe [pdf] is the youngest lava field on Mars, dubbed the Athabasca Valles flood lava. To quote this linked paper’s abstract:
Careful mapping finds that the Athabasca Valles flood lava is the product of a single eruption, and it covers 250,000 [square kilometers] of western Elysium Planitia with an estimated 5000–7500 [cubic kilometers] of mafic or ultramafic lava. Calculations utilizing topographic data enhanced with MRO observations to refine the dimensions of the channel system show that this flood lava was emplaced turbulently over a period of only a few to several weeks. [emphasis mine]
That’s a flood plain as large as the entire United Kingdom, laid down in only a few weeks.
As this channel and Elysium Planitia are located between the giant volcanoes Elysium Mons and Olympus Mons, it isn’t surprising that we find both lava flows and vast ash deposits here. The Athabasca Valles lava flood however is not directly linked to either volcano, but to a specific lava upwelling at this location. In fact, the research suggests that there are several similar large lava flows all across Elysium Planitia.
Moreover, Elysium Planitia is also where we find the cracks of Cerberus Fossae, created by the upward pressure of magma. This region is also where the seismometer on the InSight lander has pinpointed the location of several earthquakes.
These facts suggest that new volcanic activity in Elysium Fossae might still be possible. We have no evidence of this so far, though the young estimated age of this flood plain (anywhere from half a million to ten million years ago) certainly does not preclude it.
The support of my readers through the years has given 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. Four years ago, just before the 2020 election I wrote that Joe Biden's mental health was suspect. Only in this year has the propaganda mainstream media decided to recognize that basic fact.
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. Even today NASA and Congress refuse to 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.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are five 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:
5. 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. And if you buy the books through the ebookit links, I get a larger cut and I get it sooner.
Awesome
I live in a region paved in basalt. 7500 km^3 is impressive.