Lava/ice eruptions on Mars
Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on August 1, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Labeled by the science team as showing “possible lava-ice interaction,” the photo features some pimply-looking mounds that, though round like craters, sit above the surrounding landscape like small volcanoes.
That these are likely not ancient pedestal impact craters that now sit higher because their material is packed and can resist erosion is illustrated by the bridge-like mound in the lower right. This mound was likely once solid, but its north and south sections have disappeared, either by erosion or sublimation. If formed by an impact the mound would have had a depression in its top center, and would have only eroded outside the rim.
As always the location explains much. The yellow dot on the overview map to the right marks this location, just above 30 degrees latitude in the icy northern lowland plains of Mars.
At this latitude there is much near-surface ice. Moreover, Olympus Mons 800 miles to the southwest as well as the vast volcanic flood plains to the south that appear to flood this region as well suggest lots of volcanic processes here. Both explain why the scientists believe we are looking at the interaction of lava and ice at these mounds. My guess is that heat from the flood lava caused the ice to melt and erupt upward, forming the mounds. That heat also allowed some ice to sublimate away, leaving behind hollow areas such as the already-described mound in the lower right.
The location is also about 400 miles southwest of some of Starship’s prime landing sites, chosen because of the presence of lots of near-surface ice.
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Click for original image.
Cool image time! The picture to the right, cropped, reduced, and sharpened to post here, was taken on August 1, 2023 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Labeled by the science team as showing “possible lava-ice interaction,” the photo features some pimply-looking mounds that, though round like craters, sit above the surrounding landscape like small volcanoes.
That these are likely not ancient pedestal impact craters that now sit higher because their material is packed and can resist erosion is illustrated by the bridge-like mound in the lower right. This mound was likely once solid, but its north and south sections have disappeared, either by erosion or sublimation. If formed by an impact the mound would have had a depression in its top center, and would have only eroded outside the rim.
As always the location explains much. The yellow dot on the overview map to the right marks this location, just above 30 degrees latitude in the icy northern lowland plains of Mars.
At this latitude there is much near-surface ice. Moreover, Olympus Mons 800 miles to the southwest as well as the vast volcanic flood plains to the south that appear to flood this region as well suggest lots of volcanic processes here. Both explain why the scientists believe we are looking at the interaction of lava and ice at these mounds. My guess is that heat from the flood lava caused the ice to melt and erupt upward, forming the mounds. That heat also allowed some ice to sublimate away, leaving behind hollow areas such as the already-described mound in the lower right.
The location is also about 400 miles southwest of some of Starship’s prime landing sites, chosen because of the presence of lots of near-surface ice.
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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