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Mars and Earth: Comparison of cold-climate features Mars and Earth: Comparison of cold-climate features

On Earth, glacial and periglacial features are common in areas of cold climate. On Mars, the temperature of the present-day surface is appropriate for permafrost, and the presence of water is suspected from data relating to the outgassing of the planet, from remote-sensing measurements over the polar caps and elsewhere on the Martian surface, and from recognition of fluvial morphological...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta

Did ice streams carve martian outflow channels? Did ice streams carve martian outflow channels?

Outflow channels on Mars1 are long sinuous linear depressions that occur mostly in the equatorial area (±30° lat.). They differ from small valley networks2 by being larger and arising full born from chaotic terrains. Outflow channels resemble terrestrial stream beds, and their origin has generally been attributed to water3–5 in catastrophic floods6,7 or mudflows8. The catastrophic-flood...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta, D.M. Anderson, H. Shoji

Ridges and scarps in the equatorial belt of Mars Ridges and scarps in the equatorial belt of Mars

The morphology and distribution of ridges and scarps on Mars in the ± 30° latitude belt were investigated. Two distinct types of ridges were recognized. The first is long and linear, resembling mare ridges on the Moon; it occurs mostly in plains areas. The other is composed of short, anastomosing segments and occurs mostly in ancient cratered terrain and intervening plateaus. Where...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta, J.L. Klockenbrink

Grooved terrain on Ganymede Grooved terrain on Ganymede

The icy crust of Ganymede comprises bright and dark areas. Investigation of Voyager 1 and 2 images has shown that bright terrain is grooved and separates dark polygons of cratered terrain. The grooved terrain contains alternating ridges and grooves in straight and curvilinear sets, which are locally interrupted by smooth patches and swaths. Cratered terrain, where 'it occurs in small...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta

Stability of sulfur slopes on Io Stability of sulfur slopes on Io

The mechanical properties of elemental sulfur are such that the upper crust of Io cannot be primarily sulfur. For heat flows in the range 100–1000 ergs cm−2, sec−1, sulfur becomes ductile within several hundred meters of the surface and would prevent the formation of calderas with depths greater than this. However, the one caldera for which precise depth data are available is 2 km deep...
Authors
Gary D. Clow, M. H. Carr

Altitude-age relationships of the lunar maria Altitude-age relationships of the lunar maria

Altitudes and relative ages of mare surface units were compared to test if a systematic correlation in height of lava eruption surfaces and age might reflect a corresponding increase in depth of the magma chamber with time; in addition the altitudes were studied to shed light on the time and place of warping of mare surfaces. The laser altimeter data from the Apollo missions and relative...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta, J. M. Boyce

Landslides in Valles Marineris, Mars Landslides in Valles Marineris, Mars

Large landslides in the Martian equatorial troughs have been investigated with respect to morphology, geologic structure of the troughs, time of emplacement, similarity to terrestrial landslides, and origin and mechanism of transport. Viking Orbiter images provided a base for morphologic analyses, mapping, crater counts, and volumetric considerations. Results showed that the morphologic...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta

Atlas of Mars: the 1:5,000,000 map series Atlas of Mars: the 1:5,000,000 map series

This atlas comprises small-scale maps and photomosaics covering the entire surface of the planet Mars. The cartographic contents are reduced-scale versions of the 1:5,000,000 topographic series of 30 quadrangles compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
Authors
R. M. Batson, P.M. Bridges, J.L. Inge

Relative age of Camelot crater and crater clusters near the Apollo 17 landing site Relative age of Camelot crater and crater clusters near the Apollo 17 landing site

Topographic profiles and depth-diameter ratios from the crater Camelot and craters of the central cluster in the Apollo 17 landing area suggest that these craters are of the same age. Therefore, layers that can be recognized in the deep-drill core and that can be identified as ejecta deposits from Camelot or from the cluster craters should yield similar emplacement ages.
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta

A large landslide on Mars A large landslide on Mars

A large landslide deposit on the south wall of Gangis Chasma contains at least 100 billion m3of material that moved 60 km across the trough floor at a speed of more than 100 km/hr. The deposit consists of slump blocks at the head, hummocky material farther out, and a vast apron of longitudinally ridged material extending to the toe. The landslide deposit resembles many terrestrial ones...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta

Age of graben systems on the moon Age of graben systems on the moon

The study focuses on the time of formation of the graben. An attempt is made to determine whether the graben are restricted to geologic units of certain ages, and whether and at what time graben formation ceased. It is shown that (1) most preserved graben formed considerably later than the impacts that formed the basins; (2) graben are faults that are reactivated along older basin...
Authors
Baerbel K. Lucchitta, Jessica A. Watkins
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