Fill and spill of giant lakes in the eastern Valles Marineris region of Mars

Abstract

Research Article| June 01, 2013 Fill and spill of giant lakes in the eastern Valles Marineris region of Mars Nicholas H. Warner; Nicholas H. Warner * 1Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK *Current address: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA; E-mail: Nicholas.H.Warner@jpl.nasa.gov. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mariam Sowe; Mariam Sowe 2Institute of Geological Sciences, Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Sanjeev Gupta; Sanjeev Gupta 1Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Alexander Dumke; Alexander Dumke 2Institute of Geological Sciences, Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, Germany Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Kate Goddard Kate Goddard 1Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Nicholas H. Warner * 1Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK Mariam Sowe 2Institute of Geological Sciences, Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, Germany Sanjeev Gupta 1Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK Alexander Dumke 2Institute of Geological Sciences, Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing, Freie Universitaet Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, Germany Kate Goddard 1Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK *Current address: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, USA; E-mail: Nicholas.H.Warner@jpl.nasa.gov. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 25 Oct 2012 Revision Received: 14 Jan 2013 Accepted: 17 Jan 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2013 Geological Society of America Geology (2013) 41 (6): 675–678. https://doi.org/10.1130/G34172.1 Article history Received: 25 Oct 2012 Revision Received: 14 Jan 2013 Accepted: 17 Jan 2013 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Nicholas H. Warner, Mariam Sowe, Sanjeev Gupta, Alexander Dumke, Kate Goddard; Fill and spill of giant lakes in the eastern Valles Marineris region of Mars. Geology 2013;; 41 (6): 675–678. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G34172.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The existence of Hesperian age (3.7–3.4 Ga) surface water bodies on Mars is a contentious issue, often conflicting with favored climate models. Extensive lakes are proposed to have filled parts of Valles Marineris during this period, yet evidence for their presence and temporal continuity is poorly constrained. Here we report geomorphic and chronologic evidence for the initiation and demise of a voluminous lake system within the basins of eastern Valles Marineris. We find that independent, kilometer-deep lakes were present here well after the wetter, global climate optimum that characterized the previous Noachian epoch (4.1–3.7 Ga). Relative and impact crater chronologies of flood channels emerging from lake basins indicate relatively late lake spillover in the Early Amazonian (ca. 3.0 Ga). Drawdown of the lake and cessation of interbasin sedimentation may be recorded by a similar Early Amazonian (ca. 3.1 Ga) crater retention age on the surface of Capri Mensa, a 4-km-tall, sulfate-bearing interior layered deposit. The topography data demonstrate that incision of the bedrock barriers between the basins during spillover was driven by a dramatic local base-level difference between the lake surface and downstream basin floors. We postulate that the lake spillover process created an integrated drainage routing system between a voluminous equatorial water supply and the northern plains basin. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.