Abstract
AbstractIn the area of Arcadia Planitia in the Northern hemisphere of Mars, mounds indicating fluid and sediment emissions have been already recognized. Here, we show that through fractal and fracture‐spacing analyses of a large vent population it is possible to infer the mechanical layering of the underlying subsurface. Our work includes the mapping of an entire population of 9,028 vents over an area of 122,000 km2. The analysis of mound distribution at the surface led to the formulation of inferences about the subsurface feeding conduits, and to the identification of three mechanical discontinuities at c. 4–5, c. 14–23, and c. 50–55 km. This evidence matches the mechanical stratigraphy recorded by the InSight NASA mission, and is in agreement with independent previous subsurface global modeling, supporting our conclusions.
Highlights
We studied the area of Arcadia Planitia, a portion of the Martian northern lowlands, or “Vastitas Borealis,” located at mid-high latitudes (51°N 177°E) and around 4 km below the mean Martian elevation (Figure 1) where a large vent field has been proposed (De Toffoli et al, 2019)
We investigated non-random alignments of sedimentary volcanoes covering part of Arcadia Planitia (De Toffoli et al, 2019), following the so-called “thumbprint terrain” (TPT) pattern
TPTs appear as arcuate curvilinear alignments of pitted mounds with a limited relief, a summit pit, a lighter relative brightness compared to the surrounding plain, perimeter moats and swellings, a rough surface, and concentric troughs surrounding the central pit (Figure 2)
Summary
We studied the area of Arcadia Planitia, a portion of the Martian northern lowlands, or “Vastitas Borealis,” located at mid-high latitudes (51°N 177°E) and around 4 km below the mean Martian elevation (Figure 1) where a large vent field has been proposed (De Toffoli et al, 2019). TPTs are characterized by sets of curvilinear features made up of continuous and discontinuous alignments of pitted domes (Figure 1) They are recognizable in several locations in the Northern hemisphere of Mars (Lockwood et al, 1992; Tanaka et al, 2014) and Arcadia Planitia is one of the main sites of this sort (Kreslavsky & Head, 2002; Lucchitta, 1981; Pomerantz & Head, 2003; Ramsdale et al, 2019; Scott & Underwood, 1991; Tanaka et al, 2005). These fractures, could have acted as pathways for fluid percolation during the venting process
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