Slope streaks in frozen lava flows on Mars
Click for full image.
Cool image time! The photo to the right, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken on June 5, 2021 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows a ridgeline at the base of the giant volcano Pavonis Mons, with slope streaks on ridge’s north and south sides.
Slope streaks are a mysterious phenomenon unique to Mars. While they resemble an avalanche, they do not change the topography of the surface at all. They appear to occur randomly year round, fading slowly with time. Also, while most are dark, scientists have also spotted bright slope streaks as well.
Slope streaks also only appear on surfaces covered with a layer of fine dust, something that is obviously the case in the cool image to the right. There is so much dust on the surface here that bedrock only appears at the top of the ridge, peeking out in only a few places.
The location of this image, as shown in the overview map below, adds some additional details.
Pavonis Mons is the central volcano of the three that sit between the giant canyon Valles Marineris to the east and Mars’ biggest volcano, Olympus Mons, to the west. The white rectangle marks the location of this photo, at the very base of Pavonis.
Thus, under the fine dust layers that allowed the formation of these slope streaks it is likely that all the rock is volcanic in nature, part of the vast lava flows that came down this volcano more than a billion years ago.
Why there is a ridge here is a little unclear. It appears that as the lava flowed downhill, it might have pushed debris in front of it, which piled up to form this higher ridge. (That is a pure uneducated guess, however.) Later, the dust piled up on the surface, allowing for slope streaks to appear periodically, likely instigated by a small rock fall at the top.
As for the streaks, the process that forms them remains unknown. Several theories have been proposed (dust flows, brine flows) but none really fits all the facts. They remain one of Mars’ many geological mysteries.
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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.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
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Click for full image.
Cool image time! The photo to the right, cropped and reduced to post here, was taken on June 5, 2021 by the high resolution camera on Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). It shows a ridgeline at the base of the giant volcano Pavonis Mons, with slope streaks on ridge’s north and south sides.
Slope streaks are a mysterious phenomenon unique to Mars. While they resemble an avalanche, they do not change the topography of the surface at all. They appear to occur randomly year round, fading slowly with time. Also, while most are dark, scientists have also spotted bright slope streaks as well.
Slope streaks also only appear on surfaces covered with a layer of fine dust, something that is obviously the case in the cool image to the right. There is so much dust on the surface here that bedrock only appears at the top of the ridge, peeking out in only a few places.
The location of this image, as shown in the overview map below, adds some additional details.
Pavonis Mons is the central volcano of the three that sit between the giant canyon Valles Marineris to the east and Mars’ biggest volcano, Olympus Mons, to the west. The white rectangle marks the location of this photo, at the very base of Pavonis.
Thus, under the fine dust layers that allowed the formation of these slope streaks it is likely that all the rock is volcanic in nature, part of the vast lava flows that came down this volcano more than a billion years ago.
Why there is a ridge here is a little unclear. It appears that as the lava flowed downhill, it might have pushed debris in front of it, which piled up to form this higher ridge. (That is a pure uneducated guess, however.) Later, the dust piled up on the surface, allowing for slope streaks to appear periodically, likely instigated by a small rock fall at the top.
As for the streaks, the process that forms them remains unknown. Several theories have been proposed (dust flows, brine flows) but none really fits all the facts. They remain one of Mars’ many geological mysteries.
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.
It seems to be “leaking” into a circular feature… That’s the only solution I can come up with.., another asteroid impact.,..