Download or read book Sedimentary Geology of Mars written by John P. Grotzinger and published by . This book was released on 2012-01-01 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Often thought of as a volcanically dominated planet, the last several decades of Mars exploration have revealed with increasing clarity the role of sedimentary processes on the Red Planet. Data from recent orbiters have highlighted the role of sedimentary processes throughout the geologic evolution of Mars by providing evidence that such processes are preserved in a rock record that spans a period of over four billion years.
Download or read book Sedimentary Geology at Meridiani Planum Mars written by S.W. Squyres and published by Gulf Professional Publishing. This book was released on 2006-01-17 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In January of 2004, twin robotic explorers, Spirit and Opportunity, landed on Mars. Expected to last for 90 days, the two rovers explored the Martian surface for nearly two years. Their objective was to search for evidence of ancient water on Mars, and to determine if Mars ever had conditions that would have been suitable for life. Opportunity, landed on Meridiani Planum, a smooth plateau near the Martian equator, coming to rest in a small impact feature named Eagle Crater. After leaving Eagle Crater, Opportunity drove eastward to Endurance Crater, a much larger carter that allowed access to deeper and older rocks. At these locations, Opportunity, found strong evidence for ancient water on Mars. This evidence includes "blueberries,” small concretions rich in hematite that precipitated from water. Other evidence includes rocks that ware made largely of sulphate salts, deposited when water evaporated, and rocks that preserve ancient ripples that formed billions of years ago as water flowed over sand on Mars. The conditions long ago at Meridiani Planum could have been suitable for some simple forms of life. Whether life could have developed there, however, is a more difficult question.
Download or read book The Geology of Mars written by Mary Chapman and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2007-05-17 with total page 457 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interpretations of the geological processes operating on Mars are based on our knowledge of processes occurring on Earth. This 2007 book presents contributions from leading planetary geologists to demonstrate the parallels and differences between these two planets, and will therefore be a key reference for students and researchers of planetary science.
Download or read book The Atlas of Mars written by Kenneth S. Coles and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2019-08-22 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Planetary scientist and educator Ken Coles has teamed up with Ken Tanaka from the United States Geological Survey's Astrogeology team, and Phil Christensen, Principal Investigator of the Mars Odyssey orbiter's THEMIS science team, to produce this all-purpose reference atlas, The Atlas of Mars. Each of the thirty standard charts includes: a full-page color topographic map at 1:10,000,000 scale, a THEMIS daytime infrared map at the same scale with features labeled, a simplified geologic map of the corresponding area, and a section describing prominent features of interest. The Atlas is rounded out with extensive material on Mars' global characteristics, regional geography and geology, a glossary of terms, and an indexed gazetteer of up-to-date Martian feature names and nomenclature. This is an essential guide for a broad readership of academics, students, amateur astronomers, and space enthusiasts, replacing the NASA atlas from the 1970s.
Download or read book Permian Platform and Basin Outcrops of the Guadalupe Mountains written by Charles Budney and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The exploration and interpretation of sedimentary rocks on the Martian surface requires a comparative approach, guided in part by insights acquired through analysis of analogous rocks on Earth. Mission results over the past decade have demonstrated that a diverse suite of sediments and sedimentary rock exists on the surface of Mars that represent eolian, fluvial, and possibly lacustrine environments.
Download or read book The Martian Surface written by Jim Bell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-06-05 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Phenomenal new observations from Earth-based telescopes and Mars-based orbiters, landers, and rovers have dramatically advanced our understanding of the past environments on Mars. These include the first global-scale infrared and reflectance spectroscopic maps of the surface, leading to the discovery of key minerals indicative of specific past climate conditions; the discovery of large reservoirs of subsurface water ice; and the detailed in situ roving investigations of three new landing sites. This an important, new overview of the compositional and mineralogic properties of Mars since the last major study published in 1992. An exciting resource for all researchers and students in planetary science, astronomy, space exploration, planetary geology, and planetary geochemistry where specialized terms are explained to be easily understood by all who are just entering the field.
Download or read book Lakes on Mars written by Nathalie A. Cabrol and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2010-09-15 with total page 411 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On Earth, lakes provide favorable environments for the development of life and its preservation as fossils. They are extremely sensitive to climate fluctuations and to conditions within their watersheds. As such, lakes are unique markers of the impact of environmental changes. Past and current missions have now demonstrated that water once flowed at the surface of Mars early in its history. Evidence of ancient ponding has been uncovered at scales ranging from a few kilometers to possibly that of the Arctic ocean. Whether life existed on Mars is still unknown; upcoming missions may find critical evidence to address this question in ancient lakebeds as clues about Mars’ climate evolution and its habitability potential are still preserved in their sedimentary record. Lakes on Mars is the first review on this subject. It is written by leading planetary scientists who have dedicated their careers to searching and exploring the questions of water, lakes, and oceans on Mars through their involvement in planetary exploration, and the analysis of orbital and ground data beginning with Viking up to the most recent missions. In thirteen chapters, Lakes on Mars critically discusses new data and explores the role that water played in the evolution of the surface of Mars, the past hydrological provinces of the planet, the possibility of heated lake habitats through enhanced geothermal flux associated with volcanic activity and impact cratering. The book also explores alternate hypotheses to explain the geological record. Topographic, morphologic, stratigraphic, and mineralogic evidence are presented that suggest successions of ancient lake environments in Valles Marineris and Hellas. The existence of large lakes and/or small oceans in Elysium and the Northern Plains is supported both by the global distribution of deltaic deposits and by equipotential surfaces that may reflect their past margins. Whether those environments were conducive to life has yet to be demonstrated but from comparison with our planet, their sedimentary deposits may provide the best opportunity to find its record, if any. The final chapters explore the impact of climate variability on declining lake habitats in one of the closest terrestrial analogs to Mars at the Noachian/Hesperian transition, identify the geologic, morphologic and mineralogic signatures of ancient lakes to be searched for on Mars, and present the case for landing the Mars Science Laboratory mission in such an environment. First review on the subject by worldwide leading authorities in the field New studies with most recent data, new images, figures, and maps Most recent results from research in terrestrial analogs
Download or read book Mars Science Laboratory written by John Grotzinger and published by Springer. This book was released on 2012-12-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Mars Science Laboratory is the latest and most advanced NASA roving vehicle to explore the surface of Mars. The Curiosity rover has landed in Gale crater and will explore this region assessing conditions on the surface that might be hospitable to life and paving the way for later even more sophisticated exploration of the surface. This book describes the mission, its exploration and scientific objectives, studies leading to the design of the mission and the instruments that accomplish the objectives of the mission. This book is aimed at all those engaged in Martian studies as well as those interested in the origin of life in other environments. It will be a valuable reference for anyone who uses data from the Mars Science Laboratory. Previously published in Space Science Reviews journal, Vol. 170/1-4, 2012.
Download or read book Sedimentary Geology of the Valles Marineris Mars and Antarctic Dry Valley Lakes written by Susan S. Nedell and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Martian Geomorphology written by Matthew R. Balme and published by Geological Society of London. This book was released on 2011 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The latest Mars missions are returning data of unprecedented fidelity in their representation of the martian surface. New data include images with spatial resolution better than 30 cm per pixel, stereo imaging-derived terrain models with one meter postings, high-resolution imaging spectroscopy, and RADAR data that reveal subsurface structure. This book reveals how this information is being used to understand the evolution of martian landscapes, and includes topics such as fluvial flooding, permafrost and periglacial landforms, debris flows, deposition and erosion of sedimentary material, and the origin of lineaments on Phobos, the larger martian moon. Contemporary remote sensing data of Mars, on a par with those of Earth, reveal landscapes strikingly similar to regions of our own planet, so this book will be of interest to Earth scientists and planetary scientists alike. An overview chapter summarising Mars' climate, geology and exploration is included for the benefit of those new to Mars.
Download or read book Mars Geological Enigmas written by Richard Soare and published by Elsevier. This book was released on 2021-05-23 with total page 556 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mars Geological Enigmas: From the Late Noachian Epoch to the Present Day presents outstanding questions on the geology of Mars and divergent viewpoints based on varying interpretations and analyses. The result is a robust and comprehensive discussion that provides opportunities for planetary scientists to develop their own opinions and ways forward. Each theme opens with an introduction that includes background on the topic and lays out questions to be addressed. Alternate perspectives are covered for each topic, including methods, observations, analyses, and in-depth discussion of the conclusions. Chapters within each theme reference each other to facilitate comparison and deeper understanding of divergent opinions. Offers a transchronological view of the geological history of Mars, addressing thematic questions from a broad temporal perspective Discusses outstanding questions on Mars from diverging perspectives Includes key questions and answers, as well as a look ahead to which puzzles remain to be solved
Download or read book Mars On Earth A Study Of The Qaidam Basin written by Long Xiao and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2021-01-04 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mars has been extensively photographed by cameras and compositionally detected by spectrometers onboard orbiters on a global scale, and explored in-situ by landers and rovers at both local and outcrop scales in different locations. The results have proved that the Martian surface is rich in Earth-like geomorphologies, and the study of terrestrial analogs to Mars has been listed as one of the highest priorities of Martian science. With increasing new discoveries by in-situ explorations, Mars exploration has begun to enter the era of focusing on detailed analyses at regional to outcrop levels, rather than global mapping. Analog studies are playing a crucial role in this transition, making this book, which introduces the methodology and provides cases for readers, essentially important.Dozens of sites on Earth have been listed as analog targets for comparative study with the geomorphology, geology, geochemistry, environment and habitability of Mars. However, due to the diversity of landforms and forming mechanisms, and the long history of Mars, no single analog site on Earth can be fully compared to Mars. Nonetheless, the Qaidam Basin has been listed as an unique Mars analog site for studying the red planet's geomorphology, geology, and environmental changes, particularly regarding the evolution of paleolakes on Mars. This kind of setting has always been listed as a top priority for the search of life on Mars.This book contains first-hand information and on-site images obtained by the work's contributing authors, and is an essential read for anyone interested in Martian geomorphology and its evolution processes and history.
Download or read book Rocks written by Jan Zalasiewicz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In this Very Short Introduction Jan Zalasiewicz looks at the structure and diversity of rocks, and the processes by which they form. He describes their formation during the birth of our planet; considers what rocks there might be in Earth's deep mantle and core and on other planets; and shows how humans are creating new rock types today."--
Download or read book Geomechanical and Tectonic Investigations Into the Geologic History of Mars at Local Regional and Global Scales written by Amanda L. Nahm and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The primary goal of this dissertation is to understand the geologic history of Mars through the use of geomechanical techniques to investigate tectonic deformation of the lithosphere at local, regional, and global scales. Techniques that have their origins in terrestrial geology are applied to Mars to analyze tectonic deformation of the lithosphere at these scales. At the local, or outcrop scale, I determine the physical properties of a sedimentary rock unit at Meridiani Planum by utilizing data collected in situ by the Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity. The geological engineering technique of rock mass rating (RMR) was used to characterize the strength and deformability of a jointed outcrop of the upper unit of the Burns Formation. Results of this study show that the upper unit of the Burns formation has similar physical properties to terrestrial sedimentary rock masses such as siltstone, mudstone, and shale and that at the time of deposition, the modulus of deformation, cohesive strength, and tensile strength for the Burns Formation were ~50% lower than for present-day dry conditions. The hypothesis that the Thaumasia Highlands, located in southern Tharsis, formed as an orogenic belt is tested using critical taper wedge mechanics (CTWM). Key physical parameters such as the coefficients of friction for the wedge material and décollement and the pore fluid pressure ratio were varied between reasonable values for these parameters suggested by terrestrial and Venusian values. The topographic slope of the Thaumasia Highlands was measured from a digital elevation model derived from MOLA topographic data and, together with the physical parameters listed above, were used in a series of equations that describe the physical properties and geometry of a hypothetical critical-taper wedge. The results of this study suggest that regional slopes in the Thaumasia region are too small for the topography to achieve a critical wedge taper for reasonable values of décollement dip angle, pore fluid pressure ratios, and rock properties, which suggests that the Thaumasia Highlands likely did not form as an orogenic wedge but instead through a mechanism such as lithospheric flexure. I test the hypothesis that a period of enhanced contractional deformation occurred on Mars during the Late Noachian - Early Hesperian (3.8-3.6 Ga). The magnitude of fault-related strain and corresponding planetary radius decrease was calculated for contractional structures that formed during this time period. Additionally, I calculate the fault-related strain and planetary radius decrease for all of Mars' observable geologic record (3.95-present; Middle Noachian - Late Amazonian). Comparison of these values to those predicted by thermal evolution models for Mars shows that thermal evolution models significantly overpredict the amount of strain and associated planetary radius decrease for both time periods. Results of this study also support the hypothesis that a "pulse" of enhanced contractional deformation occurred during the Late Noachian - Early Hesperian.
Download or read book Sedimentology and Sedimentary Basins written by Mike R. Leeder and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2009-04-01 with total page 621 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sedimentology is a core discipline of earth and environmental sciences. It enquires the origins, transport and deposition of mineral sediment on the Earth's surface. The subject is a link between positive effects arising from the building of relief by tectonics and the negative action of denudation in drainage catchments and tectonic subsidence in sedimentary basins. The author addresses the principles of the subject, emphasising the advantages of a general science approach and the importance of understanding modern processes. Sedimentology and Sedimentary Basins is not an encyclopaedia, but attempts to stimulate interdisciplinary thought across the whole subject area and related disciplines. The book has been designed to meet the needs of earth and environmental science undergraduates.
Download or read book Terraforming Mars written by Martin Beech and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2021-12-09 with total page 596 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: TERRAFORMING MARS This book provides a thorough scientific review of how Mars might eventually be colonized, industrialized, and transformed into a world better suited to human habitation. The idea of terraforming Mars has, in recent times, become a topic of intense scientific interest and great public debate. Stimulated in part by the contemporary imperative to begin geoengineering Earth, as a means to combat global climate change, the terraforming of Mars will work to make its presently hostile environment more suitable to life—especially human life. Geoengineering and terraforming, at their core, have the same goal—that is to enhance (or revive) the ability of a specific environment to support human life, society, and industry. The chapters in this text, written by experts in their respective fields, are accordingly in resonance with the important, and ongoing discussions concerning the human stewardship of global climate systems. In this sense, the text is both timely and relevant and will cover issues relating to topics that will only grow in their relevance in future decades. The notion of terraforming Mars is not a new one, as such, and it has long played as the background narrative in many science fiction novels. This book, however, deals exclusively with what is physically possible, and what might conceivably be put into actual practice within the next several human generations. Audience Researchers in planetary science, astronomy, astrobiology, space engineering, architecture, ethics, as well as members of the space industry.
Download or read book The Geology of Mars written by Thomas A. Mutch and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
