Elevation Anomalies of the Volcanic Floor Unit and Their Relationships to the Multiple Lakes of Jezero Crater, Mars

Abstract We reassessed several orbital topographic data sets for the Perseverance rover landing site at Jezero Crater, Mars to better understand its floor units. Tens‐of‐meters deep topographic anomalies occur in the volcanic floor of Jezero crater and are not a result of impact cratering. Eight km‐...

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Main Authors: A. M. Annex, B. L. Ehlmann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-03-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108069
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author A. M. Annex
B. L. Ehlmann
author_facet A. M. Annex
B. L. Ehlmann
author_sort A. M. Annex
collection DOAJ
description Abstract We reassessed several orbital topographic data sets for the Perseverance rover landing site at Jezero Crater, Mars to better understand its floor units. Tens‐of‐meters deep topographic anomalies occur in the volcanic floor of Jezero crater and are not a result of impact cratering. Eight km‐scale steep escarpment‐bounded depressions may be locations of paleotopographic highs that were embayed by the volcanic floor lava flows, forming inverted topography from either contemporaneous upward inflation of embaying lavas or later deep scour due to differential erosion over 107−9 years. Five multi km‐scale shallow‐sloped depressions linked by channel‐like forms may record locations of buried paleolakes and channels that predate the volcanic floor units or a drained magma system. These results indicate Jezero experienced multiple closed‐basin or dry phases, allowing erosion of the crater floor and creation of topography, which provides new geologic context for the samples gathered by Perseverance.
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spelling doaj-art-aaea0ffac5184c33b7670ee15ee76a722025-08-20T03:49:37ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-03-01516n/an/a10.1029/2023GL108069Elevation Anomalies of the Volcanic Floor Unit and Their Relationships to the Multiple Lakes of Jezero Crater, MarsA. M. Annex0B. L. Ehlmann1Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USADivision of Geological and Planetary Sciences California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAAbstract We reassessed several orbital topographic data sets for the Perseverance rover landing site at Jezero Crater, Mars to better understand its floor units. Tens‐of‐meters deep topographic anomalies occur in the volcanic floor of Jezero crater and are not a result of impact cratering. Eight km‐scale steep escarpment‐bounded depressions may be locations of paleotopographic highs that were embayed by the volcanic floor lava flows, forming inverted topography from either contemporaneous upward inflation of embaying lavas or later deep scour due to differential erosion over 107−9 years. Five multi km‐scale shallow‐sloped depressions linked by channel‐like forms may record locations of buried paleolakes and channels that predate the volcanic floor units or a drained magma system. These results indicate Jezero experienced multiple closed‐basin or dry phases, allowing erosion of the crater floor and creation of topography, which provides new geologic context for the samples gathered by Perseverance.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108069Jezerocrater floortopography
spellingShingle A. M. Annex
B. L. Ehlmann
Elevation Anomalies of the Volcanic Floor Unit and Their Relationships to the Multiple Lakes of Jezero Crater, Mars
Geophysical Research Letters
Jezero
crater floor
topography
title Elevation Anomalies of the Volcanic Floor Unit and Their Relationships to the Multiple Lakes of Jezero Crater, Mars
title_full Elevation Anomalies of the Volcanic Floor Unit and Their Relationships to the Multiple Lakes of Jezero Crater, Mars
title_fullStr Elevation Anomalies of the Volcanic Floor Unit and Their Relationships to the Multiple Lakes of Jezero Crater, Mars
title_full_unstemmed Elevation Anomalies of the Volcanic Floor Unit and Their Relationships to the Multiple Lakes of Jezero Crater, Mars
title_short Elevation Anomalies of the Volcanic Floor Unit and Their Relationships to the Multiple Lakes of Jezero Crater, Mars
title_sort elevation anomalies of the volcanic floor unit and their relationships to the multiple lakes of jezero crater mars
topic Jezero
crater floor
topography
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL108069
work_keys_str_mv AT amannex elevationanomaliesofthevolcanicfloorunitandtheirrelationshipstothemultiplelakesofjezerocratermars
AT blehlmann elevationanomaliesofthevolcanicfloorunitandtheirrelationshipstothemultiplelakesofjezerocratermars