Reconstructing basaltic sediment transport on Mars
Role: PI
Team: Marisa Palucis (Dartmouth College), Emma Rogers (Dartmouth College)
Funding: NASA Solar System Workings Program
Most studies of martian fluvial features utilize orbital data, which cannot use grain size or shape. The observation of stream-transported gravels by rovers offers new methods into recon-structing past fluvial conditions. Reconstructing the transport history of these pebbles provides insights into the prevailing climate at the time of transport and deposition. These reconstructions are hindered, however, by limited data and theory concerning the transport of basaltic sediment. We aim to address the question “is the identification of rounded basalt pebbles conclusive evidence sustained fluvial transport on Mars?” Using a combination of field measurements and laboratory experiments, we are deriving new relationships for assessing transport history from grain size, and apply these relationships to Mars.
