Types of Martian Fan - Shaped Sedimentary Deposits

Introduction: Deltas, fans and channels on Mars clearly indicate surface water in the past. These landforms contain valuable information about the duration and magnitude of surface-water flow, with obvious implications for potential life on Mars. Martian fan-shaped deposits such as deltas and alluvial fans show architectural elements similar to those of terrestrial analogs, e.g. lobes, terraces, and incised delta fronts. Pilot experiments demonstrate that delta morphology is related to flow discharge and duration, sediment properties, and crater size [1]. However, the important relationships between surface morphology and climate remain unquantified and it is difficult to unambiguously relate the architecture of sediment bodies to certain boundary conditions. The objectives of this study are to qualify and quantify the morphological elements of Martian fan-shaped deposits with the use of the unique remote sensing data by Mars Express-HRSC. Discussion: The population of fan-shaped deposits on Mars varies greatly in terms of size, shape and morphology. In order to understand the processes involved in their formation, and hence the climate conditions under which they were formed, one must first establish whether it is possible to distinguish between different types of these deposits. Some authors have done this based on the setting in which the deposits were formed (e.g. in ponding water, in impact crater basins, within 30° of the equator, etc.). We attempt to distinguish different types by analysing morphometric properties and key architectural elements. Key Architectural Elements: Terrestrial alluvial systems are classified on basis of characteristic features such as size, gradient and shape, as well as external factors such as the up-and downstream conditions that allude to their depositional history [2]. Processes that range from episodic land sliding and debris flows to continuous stream flow result in various types of alluvial and fluvial fans, so providing insight into the type of climate that controlled their deposition [3]. We quantify key architectural elements of the Martian deposits using images and Digital