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Mola Topography Supports Drape-Folding Models for Polygonal Terrain of Utopia Planitia, MarsOne of the most important questions we ask about Mars is whether or not there have ever been large bodies of standing water on the surface. The polygonal terrains of Utopia and Acidalia Planitiae are located in the lowest parts of the northern lowlands, the most logical places for water to pond and sediments to accumulate. Showing that polygonal terrain is sedimentary in origin would represent strong evidence in favor of a northern ocean. A number of hypotheses for the origin of the giant martian polygons have been proposed, from the cooling of lava to frost wedging to the desiccation of wet sediments, but Pechman showed that none of these familiar processes could be scaled up to martian dimensions. Two models for polygon origin attempt to explain the scale of the martian polygons by postulating drape folding of a cover material, either sedimentary or volcanic, over an uneven, buried surface. The drape folding would produce bending stresses in the surface layers that increase the probability of Fracturing over drape anticlines and suppress the probability of fracturing over drape synclines. However, both models require an additional source of extensional strain to produce the total strain needed to produce the observed troughs.
Document ID
20030071156
Acquisition Source
Headquarters
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
McGill, George E.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA, United States)
Buczkowski, D. L.
(Massachusetts Univ. Amherst, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2002
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIII
Location: Houston, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: January 1, 2002
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-8184
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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