Landslides on the edge of Mars’ youngest lava field
Click for full image.
Cool image time! The photo to the right, cropped to post here, was taken by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on September 28, 2020. It shows several indentations in a north-south cliff face, with debris apparently falling down into a flat plain to the east.
The scientific history of this picture is very interesting. The first photo of these landslides was taken in 2006 and was titled, “Landslides on Flat Topography in Elysium Planitia”. The second, taken a few months later in 2007 to produce a stereoscopic view, was labeled “Landslides Along Shoreline in Elysium Planitia.” This most recent 2020 image is merely labeled “Landslides in Elysium Planitia.”
Is the flat terrain to the west a seabed to an ancient ocean, as suggested by the title for the 2007 image, with these landslides erosion caused in the far past by water lapping up against these cliffs?
More recent research tells us no. The two overview maps to the right provides the explanation. The first shows the nearby important geology surrounding this photo, indicated by the white rectangle near the center bottom. The smaller shield volcano Albor Tholus is about 400 miles to the north. Much closer to the east however is Athabasca Valles, which some scientists believe [pdf] is the source for the youngest lava flood plain on Mars. Athabasca Valles is thought to have been active around 600 million years ago, during which it laid down a flood plain about the size of Great Britain in only a matter of weeks.
The second overview map takes a wider view, and shows the estimated extent of the Athabasca lava flood plain. That flow pushed up against the eastern flanks of this lonely mountain, pressing against the cliff where the landslides are shown in the above photo.
In comparing the 2020 image with the 2006 image I can find no obvious changes. At higher resolutions there certainly could be evidence of small landslides, but the general features appear the same.
Could these landslides date from 600 million years ago, when Athabasca Valles was active and emitting lava? I have no idea, but my guess is no. More likely the slides indicate subsequent erosion by wind and the seasonal temperature cycles causing breakage in the rocks over time.
What today’s cool image does show us is a real shoreline, but not of a lake or ocean but of a lava flood plain now frozen for more than a half billion years.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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.
Click for full image.
Cool image time! The photo to the right, cropped to post here, was taken by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) on September 28, 2020. It shows several indentations in a north-south cliff face, with debris apparently falling down into a flat plain to the east.
The scientific history of this picture is very interesting. The first photo of these landslides was taken in 2006 and was titled, “Landslides on Flat Topography in Elysium Planitia”. The second, taken a few months later in 2007 to produce a stereoscopic view, was labeled “Landslides Along Shoreline in Elysium Planitia.” This most recent 2020 image is merely labeled “Landslides in Elysium Planitia.”
Is the flat terrain to the west a seabed to an ancient ocean, as suggested by the title for the 2007 image, with these landslides erosion caused in the far past by water lapping up against these cliffs?
More recent research tells us no. The two overview maps to the right provides the explanation. The first shows the nearby important geology surrounding this photo, indicated by the white rectangle near the center bottom. The smaller shield volcano Albor Tholus is about 400 miles to the north. Much closer to the east however is Athabasca Valles, which some scientists believe [pdf] is the source for the youngest lava flood plain on Mars. Athabasca Valles is thought to have been active around 600 million years ago, during which it laid down a flood plain about the size of Great Britain in only a matter of weeks.
The second overview map takes a wider view, and shows the estimated extent of the Athabasca lava flood plain. That flow pushed up against the eastern flanks of this lonely mountain, pressing against the cliff where the landslides are shown in the above photo.
In comparing the 2020 image with the 2006 image I can find no obvious changes. At higher resolutions there certainly could be evidence of small landslides, but the general features appear the same.
Could these landslides date from 600 million years ago, when Athabasca Valles was active and emitting lava? I have no idea, but my guess is no. More likely the slides indicate subsequent erosion by wind and the seasonal temperature cycles causing breakage in the rocks over time.
What today’s cool image does show us is a real shoreline, but not of a lake or ocean but of a lava flood plain now frozen for more than a half billion years.
Readers!
Every February I run a fund-raising drive during my birthday month. This year I celebrate my 72nd birthday, and hope and plan to continue writing and posting on Behind the Black for as long as I am able.
I hope my readers will support this effort. As I did in my November fund-raising drive, I am offering autographed copies of my books for large donations. Donate $250 and you can have a choice of the hardback of either Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8 or Conscious Choice: The origins of slavery in America and why it matters today and for our future in outer space. Donate $200 and you can get an autographed paperback copy of either.
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID 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. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
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.
“… a lava flood plain now frozen for more than a half million years.”
Typo alert: More than half a billion years, of course.
Michael McNeil: Thank you. Fixed. As I say, what would I do without my readers.