Analysis and Classification of Two Multi-Layered Deposits, Xanthe Terra, Mars

Abstract

The Orson Welles Chaos is a linear feature located between the Orson Welles crater and Ganges Chasma in Xanthe Terra, Mars. Within the Chaos system there are two neighboring deposits of white sediment that are uniquely colored and horizontally layered in visible light imagery. Geomorphic features are qualitatively, statistically, and spatially analyzed using High-Resolution Imaging Experiment imagery. Spectral signatures are measured and compared using Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars hyperspectral data.

This study looks at the potential role of water in the formation of the study sites. The layers at the study sites might have been formed by hydrous minerals, show some hints of shoreline drop-offs, and may have topography for paleochannels, but evidence is inconclusive overall. Dune pattern analysis shows modern wind patterns might have changed recently and definitively shows multiple surface ages. The history of these sites informs the geologic and hydrologic history around the Mars equator.