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Mangold N, Dromart G, Ansan V, Salese F, Kleinhans MG, Massé M, Quantin-Nataf C, Stack KM. Fluvial Regimes, Morphometry, and Age of Jezero Crater Paleolake Inlet Valleys and Their Exobiological Significance for the 2020 Rover Mission Landing Site. ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:994-1013. [PMID: 32466668 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Jezero crater has been selected as the landing site for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, because it contains a paleolake with two fan-deltas, inlet and outlet valleys. Using the data from the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) and the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE), we conducted a quantitative geomorphological study of the inlet valleys of the Jezero paleolake. Results show that the strongest erosion is related to a network of deep valleys that cut into the highland bedrock well upstream of the Jezero crater and likely formed before the formation of the regional olivine-rich unit. In contrast, the lower sections of valleys display poor bedrock erosion and a lack of tributaries but are characterized by the presence of pristine landforms interpreted as fluvial bars from preserved channels, the discharge rates of which have been estimated at 103-104 m3s-1. The valleys' lower sections postdate the olivine-rich unit, are linked directly to the fan-deltas, and are thus formed in an energetic, late stage of activity. Although a Late Noachian age for the fan-deltas' formation is not excluded based on crosscutting relationships and crater counts, this indicates evidence of a Hesperian age with significant implications for exobiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Mangold
- Laboratoire Planétologie et Géodynamique, UMR6112 CNRS, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Gilles Dromart
- Univ Lyon, ENSL, Univ Lyon 1, CNRS, LGL-TPE, Lyon, France
| | - Veronique Ansan
- Laboratoire Planétologie et Géodynamique, UMR6112 CNRS, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | - Francesco Salese
- Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Università Gabriele D'Annunzio, Pescara, Italy
| | | | - Marion Massé
- Laboratoire Planétologie et Géodynamique, UMR6112 CNRS, Faculté des Sciences, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
| | | | - Kathryn M Stack
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
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Roller S, Wittmann H, Kastowski M, Hinderer M. Erosion of the Rwenzori Mountains, East African Rift, from in situ-produced cosmogenic10Be. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2011jf002117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Whittaker AC, Boulton SJ. Tectonic and climatic controls on knickpoint retreat rates and landscape response times. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2011jf002157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 132] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Haviv I, Enzel Y, Whipple KX, Zilberman E, Matmon A, Stone J, Fifield KL. Evolution of vertical knickpoints (waterfalls) with resistant caprock: Insights from numerical modeling. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2008jf001187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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Valla PG, van der Beek PA, Lague D. Fluvial incision into bedrock: Insights from morphometric analysis and numerical modeling of gorges incising glacial hanging valleys (Western Alps, France). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2008jf001079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Pierre G. Valla
- Laboratoire de Géodynamique des Chaînes Alpines; Université Joseph Fourier; Grenoble France
| | - Peter A. van der Beek
- Laboratoire de Géodynamique des Chaînes Alpines; Université Joseph Fourier; Grenoble France
| | - Dimitri Lague
- Géosciences Rennes; Université Rennes 1, CNRS; Rennes France
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