Global database of alluvial fans and putative deltas on Mars
Role: PhD candidate (dissertation chapter)
Team: Sharon Wilson (Smithsonian), Alan Howard (University of Virginia)
Funding: Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (Post-Doctoral Fellowship); NASA Mars Data Analysis Program; NASA Solar System Workings Program
Fan-shaped landforms on Mars are geomorphic markers for past water flow and provide a record of the planet’s climate history. As part of my PhD dissertation, Using high resolution CTX data we conducted a global survey and mapped >1500 fans across Mars. Crater statistics indicate that martian alluvial fans during Mars’ relatively recent history, continuing well into the Hesperian and Amazonian periods. Fans are located at lower elevations than the older valley networks, suggesting that Mars’ climate changed, moving stable liquid water to new locations. Inside craters, alluvial fans are typically found on north, south, and east-facing slopes, likely due to snowmelt and rain influenced by nearby mountains. Alluvial fans within impact craters are preferentially located on north, south, and east-facing slopes, and are concentrated near the areas with the highest rim topographic relief. Together, these observations support orographically-influenced precipitation and snowmelt as a runoff source.
Wilson et al. (2021) GRL Morgan et al. (2022) Icarus Morgan et al. (2022) Data in Brief