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Rodriguez JAP, Wilhelm MB, Travis B, Kargel JS, Zarroca M, Berman DC, Cohen J, Baker V, Lopez A, Buckner D. Exploring the evidence of Middle Amazonian aquifer sedimentary outburst residues in a Martian chaotic terrain. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17524. [PMID: 37853014 PMCID: PMC10584912 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39060-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The quest for past Martian life hinges on locating surface formations linked to ancient habitability. While Mars' surface is considered to have become cryogenic ~3.7 Ga, stable subsurface aquifers persisted long after this transition. Their extensive collapse triggered megafloods ~3.4 Ga, and the resulting outflow channel excavation generated voluminous sediment eroded from the highlands. These materials are considered to have extensively covered the northern lowlands. Here, we show evidence that a lacustrine sedimentary residue within Hydraotes Chaos formed due to regional aquifer upwelling and ponding into an interior basin. Unlike the northern lowland counterparts, its sedimentary makeup likely consists of aquifer-expelled materials, offering a potential window into the nature of Mars' subsurface habitability. Furthermore, the lake's residue's estimated age is ~1.1 Ga (~3.2 Ga post-peak aquifer drainage during the Late Hesperian), enhancing the prospects for organic matter preservation. This deposit's inferred fine-grained composition, coupled with the presence of coexisting mud volcanoes and diapirs, suggest that its source aquifer existed within abundant subsurface mudstones, water ice, and evaporites, forming part of the region's extremely ancient (~ 4 Ga) highland stratigraphy. Our numerical models suggest that magmatically induced phase segregation within these materials generated enormous water-filled chambers. The meltwater, originating from varying thermally affected mudstone depths, could have potentially harbored diverse biosignatures, which could have become concentrated within the lake's sedimentary residue. Thus, we propose that Hydraotes Chaos merits priority consideration in future missions aiming to detect Martian biosignatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Alexis P Rodriguez
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA.
- External Geodynamics and Hydrogeology Group, Department of Geology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | - Bryan Travis
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Kargel
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - Mario Zarroca
- External Geodynamics and Hydrogeology Group, Department of Geology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, 08193, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Daniel C Berman
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - Jacob Cohen
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, 94035, USA
| | - Victor Baker
- Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - Anthony Lopez
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - Denise Buckner
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA
- University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA
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Rodriguez JAP, Robertson DK, Kargel JS, Baker VR, Berman DC, Cohen J, Costard F, Komatsu G, Lopez A, Miyamoto H, Zarroca M. Evidence of an oceanic impact and megatsunami sedimentation in Chryse Planitia, Mars. Sci Rep 2022; 12:19589. [PMID: 36456647 PMCID: PMC9715952 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18082-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
In 1976, NASA's Viking 1 Lander (V1L) was the first spacecraft to operate successfully on the Martian surface. The V1L landed near the terminus of an enormous catastrophic flood channel, Maja Valles. However, instead of the expected megaflood record, its cameras imaged a boulder-strewn surface of elusive origin. We identified a 110-km-diameter impact crater (Pohl) ~ 900 km northeast of the landing site, stratigraphically positioned (a) above catastrophic flood-eroded surfaces formed ~ 3.4 Ga during a period of northern plains oceanic inundation and (b) below the younger of two previously hypothesized megatsunami deposits. These stratigraphic relationships suggest that a marine impact likely formed the crater. Our simulated impact-generated megatsunami run-ups closely match the mapped older megatsunami deposit's margins and predict fronts reaching the V1L site. The site's location along a highland-facing lobe aligned to erosional grooves supports a megatsunami origin. Our mapping also shows that Pohl's knobby rim regionally represents a broader history of megatsunami modification involving circum-oceanic glaciation and sedimentary extrusions extending beyond the recorded megatsunami emplacement in Chryse Planitia. Our findings allow that rocks and soil salts at the landing site are of marine origin, inviting the scientific reconsideration of information gathered from the first in-situ measurements on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Alexis P. Rodriguez
- grid.423138.f0000 0004 0637 3991Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395 USA
| | - Darrel K. Robertson
- grid.419075.e0000 0001 1955 7990NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 USA
| | - Jeffrey S. Kargel
- grid.423138.f0000 0004 0637 3991Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395 USA
| | - Victor R. Baker
- grid.134563.60000 0001 2168 186XDepartment of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
| | - Daniel C. Berman
- grid.423138.f0000 0004 0637 3991Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395 USA
| | - Jacob Cohen
- grid.419075.e0000 0001 1955 7990NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 USA
| | - Francois Costard
- grid.503243.3GEOPS-Géosciences Paris Sud, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
| | - Goro Komatsu
- grid.412451.70000 0001 2181 4941International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Università D’Annunzio, Viale Pindaro 42, 65127 Pescara, Italy
| | - Anthony Lopez
- grid.423138.f0000 0004 0637 3991Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ 85719-2395 USA
| | - Hideaki Miyamoto
- grid.26999.3d0000 0001 2151 536XDepartment of Systems Innovation, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, 113-8656 Japan
| | - Mario Zarroca
- grid.7080.f0000 0001 2296 0625External Geodynamics and Hydrogeology Group, Department of Geology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
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Duran S, Coulthard TJ. The Kasei Valles, Mars: a unified record of episodic channel flows and ancient ocean levels. Sci Rep 2020; 10:18571. [PMID: 33122736 PMCID: PMC7596472 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75080-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
There is widespread evidence across Mars of past flows in major channel systems as well as more than one palaeo ocean level. However, evidence for the timing of channel flows and ocean levels is based on geographically diverse sources with a limited number of dates, making reconstructions of palaeo flows and ocean levels patchy. Here, based on high-resolution topography, image analysis and crater statistics, we have dated 35 different surfaces in Kasei Valles, that are predominantly found within erosional units enabling us to reconstruct a fascinating timeline of episodic flooding events (ranging from 3.7 to 3.6 Ga to ca. 2.0 Ga) interacting with changing ocean/base levels. The temporal correlation of the different surfaces indicates five periods of channel flows driving the evolution of Kasei Valles, in conjunction with the development of (at least) two ocean levels. Furthermore, our results imply that such ocean rose in elevation (ca. 1000 m) between ca. 3.6 Ga and 3.2 Ga and soon afterwards disappeared, thereby indicating a complex ancient Martian hydrosphere capable of supporting a vast ocean, with an active hydrological cycle stretching into the Amazonian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Duran
- Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, Hull, UK.
| | - Tom J Coulthard
- Energy and Environment Institute, University of Hull, Hull, UK
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Kereszturi Á. Unique and Potentially Mars-Relevant Flow Regime and Water Sources at a High Andes-Atacama Site. ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:723-740. [PMID: 32525739 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
A field expedition in the High Andes/Atacama Desert region revealed two types of flow-produced structures and a unique flow regime. Gullies somewhat smaller than those on Mars (width: 0.2-1 m, depth: 0.2-0.6 m, length: 4-60 m) were observed as mainly erosional structures. The other flow-related feature called infilled valleys showed activity only in specific, spatially discrete areas during the daytime. The active sections were composed of a source depression where liquid H2O was produced from subsurface buried sources, which flowed down and percolated into fine-grained infilling material of the valley. Several such active sections could be present along one valley, separated by inactive ones. Three types of H2O sources fed them: buried snow, surface snow, and ice left behind from the liquid water that had emerged the preceding day. This latter source has not yet been suggested for Mars. Some aspects related to the formation of the gullies and infilled valleys (H2O budget, albedo, erosional processes) may be similar with the formation processes hypothesized for the recurring slope lineae on Mars. The observed diurnal spatially discrete activity of the infilled valleys is related to the interaction of insolation and mass movement of exhumed subsurface snow, which is also believed to exist on Mars. The Ojos del Salado site is unique in that, despite it being located in the hyperarid High Andes/Atacama Desert region, material from rare snowfall events has been protected due to burial by grains transported by strong winds, supporting ephemeral melting in the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ákos Kereszturi
- Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences, Konkoly Thege Miklos Astronomical Institute, Budapest, Hungary
- European Astrobiology Institute, Strasbourg, France
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Abstract
To assess Mars’ potential for both harboring life and providing useable resources for future human exploration, it is of paramount importance to comprehend the water situation on the planet. Therefore, studies have been conducted to determine any evidence of past or present water existence on Mars. While the presence of abundant water on Mars very early in its history is widely accepted, on its modern form, only a fraction of this water can be found, as either ice or locked into the structure of Mars’ plentiful water-rich materials. Water on the planet is evaluated through various evidence such as rocks and minerals, Martian achondrites, low volume transient briny outflows (e.g., dune flows, reactivated gullies, slope streaks, etc.), diurnal shallow soil moisture (e.g., measurements by Curiosity and Phoenix Lander), geomorphic representation (possibly from lakes and river valleys), and groundwater, along with further evidence obtained by probe and rover discoveries. One of the most significant lines of evidence is for an ancient streambed in Gale Crater, implying ancient amounts of “vigorous” water on Mars. Long ago, hospitable conditions for microbial life existed on the surface of Mars, as it was likely periodically wet. However, its current dry surface makes it almost impossible as an appropriate environment for living organisms; therefore, scientists have recognized the planet’s subsurface environments as the best potential locations for exploring life on Mars. As a result, modern research has aimed towards discovering underground water, leading to the discovery of a large amount of underground ice in 2016 by NASA, and a subglacial lake in 2018 by Italian scientists. Nevertheless, the presence of life in Mars’ history is still an open question. In this unifying context, the current review summarizes results from a wide variety of studies and reports related to the history of water on Mars, as well as any related discussions on the possibility of living organism existence on the planet.
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Rodriguez JAP, Baker VR, Liu T, Zarroca M, Travis B, Hui T, Komatsu G, Berman DC, Linares R, Sykes MV, Banks ME, Kargel JS. The 1997 Mars Pathfinder Spacecraft Landing Site: Spillover Deposits from an Early Mars Inland Sea. Sci Rep 2019; 9:4045. [PMID: 30837500 PMCID: PMC6401135 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39632-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Martian outflow channels comprise some of the largest known channels in the Solar System. Remote-sensing investigations indicate that cataclysmic floods likely excavated the channels ~3.4 Ga. Previous studies show that, in the southern circum-Chryse region, their flooding pathways include hundreds of kilometers of channel floors with upward gradients. However, the impact of the reversed channel-floor topography on the cataclysmic floods remains uncertain. Here, we show that these channel floors occur within a vast basin, which separates the downstream reaches of numerous outflow channels from the northern plains. Consequently, floods propagating through these channels must have ponded, producing an inland sea, before reaching the northern plains as enormous spillover discharges. The resulting paleohydrological reconstruction reinterprets the 1997 Pathfinder landing site as part of a marine spillway, which connected the inland sea to a hypothesized northern plains ocean. Our flood simulation shows that the presence of the sea would have permitted the propagation of low-depth floods beyond the areas of reversed channel-floor topography. These results explain the formation at the landing site of possible fluvial features indicative of flow depths at least an order of magnitude lower than those apparent from the analyses of orbital remote-sensing observations.
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Affiliation(s)
- J A P Rodriguez
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA.
| | - V R Baker
- Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - T Liu
- Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - M Zarroca
- External Geodynamics and Hydrogeology Group, Department of Geology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - B Travis
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - T Hui
- Department of Hydrology & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA
| | - G Komatsu
- International Research School of Planetary Sciences, Università D'Annunzio, Viale Pindaro 42, 65127, Pescara, Italy
| | - D C Berman
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - R Linares
- External Geodynamics and Hydrogeology Group, Department of Geology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - M V Sykes
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
| | - M E Banks
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Goddard, MD, 20771, USA
| | - J S Kargel
- Planetary Science Institute, 1700 East Fort Lowell Road, Suite 106, Tucson, AZ, 85719-2395, USA
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7
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Salese F, Pondrelli M, Neeseman A, Schmidt G, Ori GG. Geological Evidence of Planet-Wide Groundwater System on Mars. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH. PLANETS 2019; 124:374-395. [PMID: 31007995 PMCID: PMC6472477 DOI: 10.1029/2018je005802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2018] [Revised: 01/12/2019] [Accepted: 01/15/2019] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The scale of groundwater upwelling on Mars, as well as its relation to sedimentary systems, remains an ongoing debate. Several deep craters (basins) in the northern equatorial regions show compelling signs that large amounts of water once existed on Mars at a planet-wide scale. The presence of water-formed features, including fluvial Gilbert and sapping deltas fed by sapping valleys, constitute strong evidence of groundwater upwelling resulting in long term standing bodies of water inside the basins. Terrestrial field evidence shows that sapping valleys can occur in basalt bedrock and not only in unconsolidated sediments. A hypothesis that considers the elevation differences between the observed morphologies and the assumed basal groundwater level is presented and described as the "dike-confined water" model, already present on Earth and introduced for the first time in the Martian geological literature. Only the deepest basins considered in this study, those with bases deeper than -4000 m in elevation below the Mars datum, intercepted the water-saturated zone and exhibit evidence of groundwater fluctuations. The discovery of these groundwater discharge sites on a planet-wide scale strongly suggests a link between the putative Martian ocean and various configurations of sedimentary deposits that were formed as a result of groundwater fluctuations during the Hesperian period. This newly recognized evidence of water-formed features significantly increases the chance that biosignatures could be buried in the sediment. These deep basins (groundwater-fed lakes) will be of interest to future exploration missions as they might provide evidence of geological conditions suitable for life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Salese
- Faculty of GeosciencesUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
- International Research School of Planetary SciencesUniversità Gabriele D'AnnunzioPescaraItaly
| | - Monica Pondrelli
- International Research School of Planetary SciencesUniversità Gabriele D'AnnunzioPescaraItaly
| | - Alicia Neeseman
- Institute of Geological Sciences, Planetary Sciences and Remote Sensing GroupFreie Universität BerlinBerlinGermany
| | - Gene Schmidt
- International Research School of Planetary SciencesUniversità Gabriele D'AnnunzioPescaraItaly
| | - Gian Gabriele Ori
- International Research School of Planetary SciencesUniversità Gabriele D'AnnunzioPescaraItaly
- Ibn Battuta CentreUniversité Cadi AyyadMarrakeshMorocco
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8
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Azua-Bustos A, Fairén AG, González-Silva C, Ascaso C, Carrizo D, Fernández-Martínez MÁ, Fernández-Sampedro M, García-Descalzo L, García-Villadangos M, Martin-Redondo MP, Sánchez-García L, Wierzchos J, Parro V. Unprecedented rains decimate surface microbial communities in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert. Sci Rep 2018; 8:16706. [PMID: 30420604 PMCID: PMC6232106 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-35051-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, the driest and oldest desert on Earth, has experienced a number of highly unusual rain events over the past three years, resulting in the formation of previously unrecorded hypersaline lagoons, which have lasted several months. We have systematically analyzed the evolution of the lagoons to provide quantitative field constraints of large-scale impacts of the rains on the local microbial communities. Here we show that the sudden and massive input of water in regions that have remained hyperarid for millions of years is harmful for most of the surface soil microbial species, which are exquisitely adapted to survive with meager amounts of liquid water, and quickly perish from osmotic shock when water becomes suddenly abundant. We found that only a handful of bacteria, remarkably a newly identified species of Halomonas, remain metabolically active and are still able to reproduce in the lagoons, while no archaea or eukaryotes were identified. Our results show that the already low microbial biodiversity of extreme arid regions greatly diminishes when water is supplied quickly and in great volumes. We conclude placing our findings in the context of the astrobiological exploration of Mars, a hyperarid planet that experienced catastrophic floodings in ancient times.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Azua-Bustos
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain. .,Instituto de Ciencias Biomédicas, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
| | - A G Fairén
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain. .,Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, 14853, NY, USA.
| | | | - C Ascaso
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - D Carrizo
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - J Wierzchos
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), 28006, Madrid, Spain
| | - V Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), 28850, Madrid, Spain
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