Morphometric comparison of braided Martian channels and some braided terrestial features

Abstract

Large channels on the Martian surface have been variously attributed to erosional, volcanic, and tectonic processes. Morphometric information shows that large braided Martian channels and islands between those channels are similar in their dimensions to channels and islands of large braided fluvial features on Earth. The information also suggests that braided fractures in solid materials are fundamentally different in morphometry from braided channels of Earth and Mars. Braided tension fractures have characteristically low braiding indices and are much narrower than their irregularly shaped “midchannel” islands. Terrestrial and Martian channels, in contrast, have high braiding indices, and they are wider than their streamlined midchannel islands. Braided volcanic features are known from the earth and the moon, but the absence of volcanic constructs near the large braided channels on Mars indicates that volcanic origin is unlikely. The morphometric information suggests that braided Martian channels are probably of fluvial origin.