Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T01:39:42.510Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Melt-water formed dark streaks on slopes of Haughton crater as possible Mars analogues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2019

Jonathan Clarke ,
Paul Knightly  and
Shannon Rupert
Jonathan Clarke*
Affiliation:
Mars Society Australia, 43 Michell St, Monash, ACT 2904, Australia
Paul Knightly
Affiliation:
Space and Planetary Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
Shannon Rupert
Affiliation:
Mars Society, 11111 West 8 Avenue Unit A, Lakewood, CO 80215, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Jonathan Clarke, E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Haughton crater in the Canadian Arctic has been extensively used as a Mars (and lunar) analogue over the past 20 years. Here we report on small scale, dark, semi-seasonal slope streaks formed by melt water flowing down the crater walls that we observed during the Mars Society-sponsored M160 expedition to the F-MARS facility on the NW rim of the crater. The streaks are formed by biofilms colonizing snow melt flowing from semi-permanent snow patches in Haughton crater on Devon Island and elsewhere in the Canadian Arctic. These features superficially resemble the dark slope streaks and recurring slope lineae (RSL) observed on Mars and may serve as analogues for wet models for their formation and a contrast with dry formation models. Their significance to astrobiology and planetary science is three-fold: (1) as examples of dark recurring streaks known to be associated with water they provide a benchmark to compare with Martian slope streaks and RSL. (2) The melt streaks may have potential as astrobiological analogues for wet models of slope streaks and RSL. (3) They are natural laboratories to study planetary protection issues associated with robotic and astronaut exploration of potential water-related slope features on Mars.

Keywords

Devon Islandmelt waterMars analoguesslope streaksrecurring slope lineaeHaughton crater
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 18 , Issue 6 , December 2019 , pp. 518 - 526
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baratoux, D, Mangold, N, Forget, F, Cord, A, Pinet, P, Daydou, Y, Jehl, A, Masson, P, Neukum, G and the HRSC CO-Investigator Team (2006) The role of the wind-transported dust in slope streaks activity: evidence from the HRSC data. Icarus 183, 30–45.Google Scholar
Barfoot, TD, Furgale, PT, Stenning, BE, Carle, PJF, Enright, JP, Lee, P (2010) Devon island as a proving ground for planetary rovers. In Angeles, J Boulet, B, Clark, JJ, Kovecses, J and Siddiqi, K (eds), Brain, Body and Machine, AISC 83. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag Berlin, pp. 269–281.Google Scholar
Bhardwaj, A, Sam, L, Martín-Torres, FJ, Zorzano, M-P and Fonseca, RM (2017) Martian slope streaks as plausible indicators of transient water activity. Nature Scientific Reports 7, 7074.Google Scholar
Binsted, K, Kobrick, RL, Griofa, MO, Bishop, S and Lapierre, J (2010) Human factors research as part of a Mars exploration analogue mission on Devon Island. Planetary and Space Science 58, 994–1006.Google Scholar
Christensen, PR (2003) Formation of recent Martian gullies through melting of extensive water-rich snow deposits. Nature 422, 45–48.Google Scholar
Clancey, WJ, Lee, P and Sierhuis, M (2001) Empirical Requirements Analysis for Mars Surface Operations Using the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station FLAIRS Conference Proceedings 2001.Google Scholar
Cockell, CS, Lee, P, Osinski, G, Horneck, G and Broady, P (2002) Impact induced microbial endolithic habitats. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 37, 1287–1298.Google Scholar
Dundas, CM and McEwen, AS (2015) Slope activity in Gale crater, Mars. Icarus 254, 213–218.Google Scholar
Dundas, CM, McEwen, AS, Chojnacki, M, Milazzo, MP, Byrne, S, McElwaine, JN and Anna Urso, A (2017) Granular flows at recurring slope lineae on Mars indicate a limited role for liquid water. Nature Geoscience 10, 903–907.Google Scholar
Edgett, KS, Malin, MC, Sullivan, RJ, Thomas, P and Veverka, J (2000) Dynamic Mars: new dark slope streaks observed on annual and decadal time scales. Proceedings of the Lunar Science Conference 31, Abstract 1058.Google Scholar
Edwards, CS and Piqueux, S (2016) The water content of recurring slope lineae on Mars. 43, 8912–8919.Google Scholar
Grasby, SE, Proemse, BC and Beauchamp, B (2014) Deep groundwater circulation through the High Arctic cryosphere forms Mars-like gullies. Geology 42, 651–654.Google Scholar
Head, JW, Marchant, DR, Dickson, JL, Levy, JS and Morgan, GA (2007) Slope streaks in the Antarctic Dry Valleys: Characteristics, candidate formation mechanisms, and implications for slope streak formation in the Martian environment. 10th International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences Extended Abstracts 177. Address when accessed. Available at https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/4444/963f1963ba0032e992242f1454eb555afee0.pdfGoogle Scholar
Heldmann, JL and Mellon, MT (2004) Observations of Martian gullies and constraints on potential formation mechanisms. Icarus 168, 285–304.Google Scholar
Hobbs, SW, Paull, DJ and Clarke, JDA (2014) A comparison of semiarid and subhumid terrestrial gullies with gullies on Mars: implications for Martian gully erosion. Geomorphology 204, 344–365.Google Scholar
Hobbs, SW, Clarke, JDA and Paull, DJ (2016a) Analysis of crater valleys, Noachis Terra, Mars: evidence of fluvial and glacial processes. Geomorphology 261, 244–272.Google Scholar
Hobbs, SW, Paull, DL, Clarke, JDA and Roach, IC (2016b) Multi-agent gully processes: evidence from the Monaro Volcanic Province, Australia and Noachis Terra, Mars. Geomorphology 257, 23–46.Google Scholar
Hobbs, SW, Paull, PJ and Clarke, JDA (2017) Testing the water hypothesis: quantitative morphological analysis of terrestrial and Martian mid-latitude gullies. Geomorphology 295, 705–721.Google Scholar
Langford, ZL, Gooseff, MN and Lampkin, DJ (2015) Spatiotemporal dynamics of wetted soils across a polar desert landscape, McMurdo Dry valleys Antarctica. Antarctic Science 27, 197–209.Google Scholar
Lee, P and Osinski, GR (2005) The Haughton-Mars Project: overview of science investigations at the Haughton impact structure and surrounding terrains, and relevance to planetary studies. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 40, No. 12, 1755–1758.Google Scholar
Lee, P, McKay, CP and Matthews, J (2002) Gullies on Mars: clues to their formation timescale from possible analogs from Devon Island, Nunavut, arctic Canada. Proceedings of the Lunar Science Conference 33, Abstract 2050.Google Scholar
Lee, P, Cockell, CS and McKay, CP (2004) Gullies on Mars: origin by snow and ice melting and potential for life based on possible analogs from Devon Island, High Arctic. Proceedings of the Lunar Science Conference 35, Abstract 2122.Google Scholar
Lee, P, Braham, S, Boucher, M, Schutt, JW, Briggs, G, Glass, B, Gross, A, Hine, B, McKay, CP, Hoffman, SJ, Jones, JA, Berinstain, A, Comtois, J-M, Hodgson, E and Wilkinson, N (2005) Haughton-Mars Project: 10 Years of Science Operations and Exploration Systems Development at a Moon/Mars Analog Site on Devon Island, High Arctic. 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, (Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII), held March 12-16, 2007 in League City, Texas. LPI Contribution No. 1338, p. 2426.Google Scholar
Lee, P, Glass, BJ, Osinski, GR, Parnell, J, Schutt, JW and McKay, CP (2006) Gullies on Mars: fresh gullies in dirty snow, Devon Island, high Arctic, as end member anologs. Proceedings of the Lunar Science Conference 37, Abstract 1818.Google Scholar
Levy, JS and Fountain, AG (2011) Antarctic dry valleys water tracks and permafrost wet patches: ecosystem and astrobiological implications of water exchange between salts, soils, and the atmosphere in a Mars-analog cold desert. Proceedings of the 5th Mars Polar Science Conference. Abstract 6054.Google Scholar
Malin, MC, Edgett, KS, Posiolova, LV, McColley, SM and Noe Dobrea, EZ (2006) Present-day impact cratering rate and contemporary gully activity on Mars. Science 314, 1573–1577.Google Scholar
McEwen, AS, Ojha, L, Dundas, CM, Mattson, SS, Byrne, S, Wray, JL, Cull, SC, Murchie, SL, Thomas, N and Gulick, VC (2011) Seasonal flows on warm Martian slopes. Science 333, 740–743.Google Scholar
Ojha, L, Wilhelm, MB, Murchie, SL, McEwen, AS, Wray, JL, Hanley, J, Massé, M and Chojnacki, M (2015) Spectral evidence for hydrated salts in recurring slope lineae on Mars. Nature Geoscience 8, 829–832.Google Scholar
Osinski, GR, Lee, P, Spray, JG, Parnell, J, Lim, D, Bunch, TE, Cockell, CS and Glass, B (2005) Geological overview and cratering model of the Haughton impact structure, Devon Island, Canadian High Arctic. Meteoritics & Planetary Science 40, 1759–1776.Google Scholar
Osinski, GR, Léveillé, R, Berinstain, A, Lebeuf, M and Bamsey, M (2006) Terrestrial analogues to Mars and the moon: Canada's role. Geoscience Canada 33, 175–188.Google Scholar
Phillips, JD (1999) Divergence, convergence, and self-organization in landscapes. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 89, 466–488.Google Scholar
Phillips, CB, Burr, DM and Beyer, RA (2007) Mass movement within a slope streak on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters 34, L21202.Google Scholar
Pisanich, G, Young, LA, Plice, L, Lau, B, Ippolito, C and Lee, P (2004) Initial Efforts toward Mission-Representative Imaging Surveys from Aerial Explorers. SPIE (International Society of Optical Engineering) Electronic Imaging Conference, San Jose, CA, January 2004.Google Scholar
Rummel, JD, Beaty, DW, Jones, MA, Bakermans, C, Barlow, NG, Boston, PJ, Chevrier, VF, Clark, BC, de Vera, J-PP, Gough, RV, Hallsworth, JE, Head, JW, Hipkin, VJ, Kieft, TL, McEwen, AS, Mellon, MT, Mikucki, JA, Nicholson, WL, Omelon, CR, Peterson, R, Roden, EE, Sherwood, LB, Tanaka, KL, Viola, D and Wray, JJ (2014) A new analysis of Mars ‘special regions’: findings of the second MEPAG Special Regions Science Analysis Group (SR-SAG2). Astrobiology 14, 887–968.Google Scholar
Schon, SC and Head, JW (2012) Gasa impact crater, Mars: very young gullies formed from impact into latitude-dependent mantle and debris-covered glacier deposits? Icarus 218, 459–477.Google Scholar
Sullivan, R, Thomas, P and Veverka, J (2001) Mass movement slope streaks imaged by the Mars Orbiter camera. Journal of Geophysical Research 106, 23,607–23,633.Google Scholar
Witze, A (2016) Mars contamination fear could divert curiosity rover. Nature 537, 145–146.Google Scholar