CaltechAUTHORS
Published August 10, 2009 | Version public
Journal Article Metadata-only

Claritas rise, Mars: Pre-Tharsis magmatism?

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon University of Arizona
  • 2. ROR icon Jet Propulsion Lab
  • 3. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 4. ROR icon Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales
  • 5. ROR icon Washington University in St. Louis
  • 6. ROR icon Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
  • 7. ROR icon Harvey Mudd College
  • 8. ROR icon Astrogeology Science Center
  • 9. ROR icon Goddard Space Flight Center
  • 10. ROR icon National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • 11. ROR icon University of Tokyo

Abstract

Claritas rise is a prominent ancient (Noachian) center of tectonism identified through investigation of comprehensive paleotectonic information of the western hemisphere of Mars. This center is interpreted to be the result of magmatic-driven activity, including uplift and associated tectonism, as well as possible hydrothermal activity. Coupled with its ancient stratigraphy, high density of impact craters, and complex structure, a possible magnetic signature may indicate that it formed during an ancient period of Mars' evolution, such as when the dynamo was in operation. As Tharsis lacks magnetic signatures, Claritas rise may pre-date the development of Tharsis or mark incipient development, since some of the crustal materials underlying Tharsis and older parts of the magmatic complex, respectively, could have been highly resurfaced, destroying any remanent magnetism. Here, we detail the significant characteristics of the Claritas rise, and present a case for why it should be targeted by the Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Mars Express spacecrafts, as well as be considered as a prime target for future tier-scalable robotic reconnaissance.

Additional Information

Copyright © 2009 Elsevier. Received 22 May 2008; accepted 16 March 2009. Available online 31 March 2009. The authors are indebted to two technical reviewers, Daniel Mège and an anonymous reviewer, whose efforts have resulted in a significantly improved manuscript. We are also appreciative of helpful inputs by H. Jay Melosh, as well as machine learning-related information contributed by Rebecca Castano and Brad Dalton (Section 3.1). James Dohm was supported by the NASA Mars Data Analysis Program, Javier Ruiz by a contract I3P with the CSIC, co-financed from the European Social Fund, Jean-Pierre Williams by the California Institute of Technology through the O. K. Earl Postdoctoral Fellowship and the National Science Foundations Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Grants program (AST-0709151), Patrick McGuire by a Robert M. Walker senior research fellowship from the McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences, and by NASA funds through the Applied Physics Laboratory, under subcontract from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL Contract #1277793).

Additional details

Identifiers

Eprint ID
15647
DOI
10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.03.012
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:20090908-083703322

Related works

Describes
10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.03.012 (DOI)

Funding

NASA
European Social Fund
NSF
AST-0709151
McDonnell Center for the Space Sciences
JPL
1277793

Dates

Created
2009-09-25
Created from EPrint's datestamp field
Updated
2021-11-08
Created from EPrint's last_modified field