Comments on: Planetary scientists have all the fun http://josephshoer.com/blog/2010/02/planetary-scientists-have-all-the-fun/ quantum mechanic and rocket scientist extraordinaire Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:39:24 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Joseph http://josephshoer.com/blog/2010/02/planetary-scientists-have-all-the-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-633 Joseph Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:39:58 +0000 http://josephshoer.com/blog/?p=501#comment-633 Thanks, Ryan! Any idea if there's a DEM for that part of Arabia? Thanks, Ryan! Any idea if there’s a DEM for that part of Arabia?

]]> By: Ryan http://josephshoer.com/blog/2010/02/planetary-scientists-have-all-the-fun/comment-page-1/#comment-630 Ryan Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:33:34 +0000 http://josephshoer.com/blog/?p=501#comment-630 Planetary scientist, reporting for duty! Your summary is pretty much right. The cyclic bedding is caused by alternating strong and weak layers, and the fact that there are boulders coming from some of the steep slopes supports this: tough material forms big boulders and cliffs, weak material tends to just crumble into finer particles that can be carried away by the wind. I would hesitate to say for sure that the aeolian materials are being sourced from the buttes here, but it's possible. I think there are some thoughts that the rocks of Arabia Terra are part of an extensive altered tephra deposit that extends up to Mawrth Vallis, one of the proposed MSL sites, but I don't know whether the rocks shown here are thought to be part of that sequence. There's an abstract about the observed alteration available here: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/msr2008/pdf/4052.pdf Arabia Terra is definitely one of the more scenic areas of Mars. Some of my favorite MOC images are of the layered formations there: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/dec00_seds/8N7W/, http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/mars-art-something-old-something-new/ Planetary scientist, reporting for duty!

Your summary is pretty much right. The cyclic bedding is caused by alternating strong and weak layers, and the fact that there are boulders coming from some of the steep slopes supports this: tough material forms big boulders and cliffs, weak material tends to just crumble into finer particles that can be carried away by the wind.

I would hesitate to say for sure that the aeolian materials are being sourced from the buttes here, but it’s possible.

I think there are some thoughts that the rocks of Arabia Terra are part of an extensive altered tephra deposit that extends up to Mawrth Vallis, one of the proposed MSL sites, but I don’t know whether the rocks shown here are thought to be part of that sequence. There’s an abstract about the observed alteration available here: http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/msr2008/pdf/4052.pdf

Arabia Terra is definitely one of the more scenic areas of Mars. Some of my favorite MOC images are of the layered formations there: http://www.msss.com/mars_images/moc/dec00_seds/8N7W/, http://martianchronicles.wordpress.com/2008/11/15/mars-art-something-old-something-new/

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