Planetary Science Institute | 2016 May 19
[img3="Left: Color-coded digital elevation model of the study area showing the two proposed shoreline levels of an early Mars ocean that existed approximately 3.4 billion years ago. Right: Areas covered by the documented tsunami events extending from these shorelines. (Credit: Alexis Rodriguez, PSI)"]http://www.psi.edu/sites/default/files/ ... ge_1_1.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr]New geologic mapping in the Martian northern plains reveals vast sedimentary deposits that were likely emplaced by two mega-tsunamis ...
The proposed tsunami events had onshore wave heights that likely reached as high as 120 meters and moved several hundred kilometers inland ...
Mega-tsunamis also form on Earth, and their deposits, too, show tremendous variability in their topographic distribution and inundation distances. However, these are extremely rare and catastrophic events, and consequentially their deposits are mostly obscured – or removed – by younger resurfacing processes. ...
In contrast, the younger tsunami emplaced lobes that are primarily made of water-ice, he said. Sampling of these materials by future Landers is of particular scientific importance because they likely consist of frozen ancient ocean water brines. Furthermore, these materials are in relatively close proximity to the Mars Pathfinder landing site, demonstrating possible accessibility with current and tested technologies.
The vast areas covered by these ice-rich lobes imply that the frozen remnants of early Mars ocean water might be widespread not just rare and localized occurrences. The fact that many of the lobes have well-defined boundaries and that their flow-related-shapes are not significantly modified suggest that they might still retain much of the originally emplaced materials, which could be informative of the ocean’s primary composition. ...
Tsunami Waves Extensively Resurfaced the Shorelines of an Early Martian Ocean - J. Alexis P. Rodriguez et al
- Nature Scientific Reports 6:25106 (19 May 2016) DOI: 10.1038/srep25106