Northern Hemisphere Gullies on a West-Facing Crater Slope
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Northern Hemisphere Gullies on a West-Facing Crater Slope
ESP_017405_2270  Science Theme: Fluvial Processes
This image shows the eastern (west-facing) side of an impact crater in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.

Like many mid-latitude craters, this one has gullies along its walls that are composed of alcoves, channels, and debris aprons. The origins of these gullies have been the subject of much debate; they could have formed by flowing water, liquid carbon dioxide, or dry granular flows. The orientation of these gullies is of interest because many craters only contain gullies on certain walls, such as those that are pole-facing. This could be due to changes in orbital conditions and differences in solar heating along specific walls.

Many of the other features observed in and around this crater however are indicative of an ice-rich terrain, which may lend credence to the water formation hypothesis, at least for the gullies visible here. The most notable of these features is the “scalloped” terrain in and around the crater. This type of terrain has been interpreted as a sign of surface caving, perhaps due to sublimation of underlying ice. (Sublimation is the process of a solid changing directly to a gas.)

Another sign of ice is the presence of parallel lineations and pitted material on the floor of the crater, similar to what is referred to as concentric crater fill. Parallel linear cracks are also observed along the crater wall over the gullies, which could be due to thermal contraction of ice-rich material.

All of these features taken together are evidence for ice-rich material having been deposited in this region during different climatic conditions that has subsequently begun to melt and/or sublimate under current conditions. More recently, aeolian deposits have accumulated around the crater as evidenced by the parallel ridges dominating the landscape. Dust devil streaks are also visible crossing the aeolian (wind-formed) ridges.

Written by: Dan Berman  (2 June 2010)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_017827_2270.
 
Acquisition date
13 April 2010

Local Mars time
14:57

Latitude (centered)
46.671°

Longitude (East)
90.163°

Spacecraft altitude
303.0 km (188.3 miles)

Original image scale range
30.6 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~92 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
7.7°

Phase angle
49.3°

Solar incidence angle
42°, with the Sun about 48° above the horizon

Solar longitude
77.1°, Northern Spring

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North azimuth:  98°
Sub-solar azimuth:  349.5°
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POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.