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Explosive lava-water interactions in Elysium Planitia, Mars: geologic and thermodynamic constraints on the formation of the Tartarus Colles cone groups

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Explosive lava-water interactions in Elysium Planitia, Mars: geologic and thermodynamic constraints on the formation of the Tartarus Colles cone groups. / Hamilton, Christopher; Fagents, Sarah; Wilson, Lionel.
In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, Vol. 115, No. E9, E09006, 09.2010.

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Hamilton C, Fagents S, Wilson L. Explosive lava-water interactions in Elysium Planitia, Mars: geologic and thermodynamic constraints on the formation of the Tartarus Colles cone groups. Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 2010 Sept;115(E9):E09006. doi: 10.1029/2009JE003546

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Hamilton, Christopher ; Fagents, Sarah ; Wilson, Lionel. / Explosive lava-water interactions in Elysium Planitia, Mars : geologic and thermodynamic constraints on the formation of the Tartarus Colles cone groups. In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets. 2010 ; Vol. 115, No. E9.

Bibtex

@article{cc7b99658e754eec9ab7ef6eeab1e272,
title = "Explosive lava-water interactions in Elysium Planitia, Mars: geologic and thermodynamic constraints on the formation of the Tartarus Colles cone groups",
abstract = "Volcanic rootless constructs (VRCs) are the products of explosive lava-water interactions. VRCs are significant because they imply the presence of active lava and an underlying aqueous phase (e.g., groundwater or ice) at the time of their formation. Combined mapping of VRC locations, age-dating of their host lava surfaces, and thermodynamic modeling of lava-substrate interactions can therefore constrain where and when water has been present in volcanic regions. This information is valuable for identifying fossil hydrothermal systems and determining relationships between climate, near-surface water abundance, and the potential development of habitable niches on Mars. We examined the western Tartarus Colles region (25–27°N, 170–171°E) in northeastern Elysium Planitia, Mars, and identified 167 VRC groups with a total area of ∼2000 km2. These VRCs preferentially occur where lava is ∼60 m thick. Crater size-frequency relationships suggest the VRCs formed during the late to middle Amazonian. Modeling results suggest that at the time of VRC formation, near-surface substrate was partially desiccated, but that the depth to the midlatitude ice table was ≲42 m. This ground ice stability zone is consistent with climate models that predict intermediate obliquity (∼35°) between 75 and 250 Ma, with obliquity excursions descending to ∼25–32°. For lava thicknesses ranging from 30 to 60 m and ground ice fractions ranging from 0.1 to 0.3, an ice volume of ∼4–23 km3 could have been melted and/or vaporized by the time the lava solidified, and the associated hydrothermal systems could have retained temperatures >273 K for up to ∼1300 years.",
keywords = "volcanic rootless cones, explosive lava-water interaction, Tartarus Colles cone groups",
author = "Christopher Hamilton and Sarah Fagents and Lionel Wilson",
year = "2010",
month = sep,
doi = "10.1029/2009JE003546",
language = "English",
volume = "115",
journal = "Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets",
issn = "2169-9100",
publisher = "Blackwell Publishing Ltd",
number = "E9",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Explosive lava-water interactions in Elysium Planitia, Mars

T2 - geologic and thermodynamic constraints on the formation of the Tartarus Colles cone groups

AU - Hamilton, Christopher

AU - Fagents, Sarah

AU - Wilson, Lionel

PY - 2010/9

Y1 - 2010/9

N2 - Volcanic rootless constructs (VRCs) are the products of explosive lava-water interactions. VRCs are significant because they imply the presence of active lava and an underlying aqueous phase (e.g., groundwater or ice) at the time of their formation. Combined mapping of VRC locations, age-dating of their host lava surfaces, and thermodynamic modeling of lava-substrate interactions can therefore constrain where and when water has been present in volcanic regions. This information is valuable for identifying fossil hydrothermal systems and determining relationships between climate, near-surface water abundance, and the potential development of habitable niches on Mars. We examined the western Tartarus Colles region (25–27°N, 170–171°E) in northeastern Elysium Planitia, Mars, and identified 167 VRC groups with a total area of ∼2000 km2. These VRCs preferentially occur where lava is ∼60 m thick. Crater size-frequency relationships suggest the VRCs formed during the late to middle Amazonian. Modeling results suggest that at the time of VRC formation, near-surface substrate was partially desiccated, but that the depth to the midlatitude ice table was ≲42 m. This ground ice stability zone is consistent with climate models that predict intermediate obliquity (∼35°) between 75 and 250 Ma, with obliquity excursions descending to ∼25–32°. For lava thicknesses ranging from 30 to 60 m and ground ice fractions ranging from 0.1 to 0.3, an ice volume of ∼4–23 km3 could have been melted and/or vaporized by the time the lava solidified, and the associated hydrothermal systems could have retained temperatures >273 K for up to ∼1300 years.

AB - Volcanic rootless constructs (VRCs) are the products of explosive lava-water interactions. VRCs are significant because they imply the presence of active lava and an underlying aqueous phase (e.g., groundwater or ice) at the time of their formation. Combined mapping of VRC locations, age-dating of their host lava surfaces, and thermodynamic modeling of lava-substrate interactions can therefore constrain where and when water has been present in volcanic regions. This information is valuable for identifying fossil hydrothermal systems and determining relationships between climate, near-surface water abundance, and the potential development of habitable niches on Mars. We examined the western Tartarus Colles region (25–27°N, 170–171°E) in northeastern Elysium Planitia, Mars, and identified 167 VRC groups with a total area of ∼2000 km2. These VRCs preferentially occur where lava is ∼60 m thick. Crater size-frequency relationships suggest the VRCs formed during the late to middle Amazonian. Modeling results suggest that at the time of VRC formation, near-surface substrate was partially desiccated, but that the depth to the midlatitude ice table was ≲42 m. This ground ice stability zone is consistent with climate models that predict intermediate obliquity (∼35°) between 75 and 250 Ma, with obliquity excursions descending to ∼25–32°. For lava thicknesses ranging from 30 to 60 m and ground ice fractions ranging from 0.1 to 0.3, an ice volume of ∼4–23 km3 could have been melted and/or vaporized by the time the lava solidified, and the associated hydrothermal systems could have retained temperatures >273 K for up to ∼1300 years.

KW - volcanic rootless cones

KW - explosive lava-water interaction

KW - Tartarus Colles cone groups

U2 - 10.1029/2009JE003546

DO - 10.1029/2009JE003546

M3 - Journal article

VL - 115

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets

SN - 2169-9100

IS - E9

M1 - E09006

ER -