Paleohydrology and flood geomorphology of Ares Vallis

Geomorphology of Ma’adim Vallis, Mars, and associated paleolake basins

[1] Ma’adim Vallis, one of the largest valleys in the Martian highlands, appears to have originated by catastrophic overflow of a large paleolake located south of the valley heads. Ma’adim Vallis debouched to Gusev crater, 900 km to the north, the landing site for the Spirit Mars Exploration Rover. Support for the paleolake overflow hypothesis comes from the following characteristics: (1) With ...

Exposures of olivine-rich rocks in the vicinity of Ares Vallis: Implications for Noachian and Hesperian volcanism

[1] The igneous evolution of Mars is well represented in stratigraphic settings that transition across major time stratigraphic boundaries. Here we analyze in detail the morphology and composition, determined through visible–near-infrared spectroscopy, of igneous volcanic terrains in Ares Vallis, Mars. Upland plateau units with crater-filling volcanic plains are of Noachian age; smooth units to...

Paleohydrology and growth of a desert ciénega

A 7000-year record of sediment accumulation from the San Bernardino ciénega in southeastern Arizona/northeastern Sonora records changes in effective moisture. Periods of rapid sedimentation between ca. 700 to 1100 cal yr BP and ca. 4100 to 4400 cal yr BP at San Bernardino are associated with a highstand at pluvial Lake Cochise, the presence of aquatic pollen taxa in New Mexican packrat middens ...

Geology and geomorphology of Turkmenistan: A review

This article provides a background for scientists interested in a general overview of the geology and geomorphology of Turkmenistan. The basement of Turkmenistan is a complex amalgamation of arc-related terranes developed in the Asiatic and northern Paleotethys oceanic domains during Late Paleozoic to Triassic times. A major part of the country coincides with the Turan Platform, where a thick s...

Paleohydrology of Eberswalde crater, Mars