PIA05623: Signs of Soft-Sediment Deformation at "Slickrock"


Signs of Soft-Sediment Deformation at “Slickrock”

Caption:

Geological examination of bedding textures indicates threestratigraphic units in an area called "Slickrock" located in the martianrock outcrop that NASA's Opportunity examined for several weeks.This is an image Opportunity took from a distance of 2.1 meters (6.9feet) during the rover's 45th sol on Mars (March 10, 2004) and shows ascour surface or ripple trough lamination. These features are consistentwith sedimentation on a moist surface where wind-driven processes mayalso have occurred.

figure 1 for PIA05623
Figure 1

In Figure 1, interpretive blue lines indicate boundaries between the units. Theupper blue line may coincide with a scour surface. The lower and upperunits have features suggestive of ripples or early soft-sedimentdeformation. The central unit is dominated by fine, parallelstratification, which could have been produced by wind-blown ripples.

figure 2 for PIA05623
Figure 2

In Figure 2, features labeled with red letters are shown in an enlargement ofportions of the image. "A" is a scour surface characterized by truncation of theunderlying fine layers, or laminae. "B" is a possible soft-sediment bucklingcharacterized by a "teepee" shaped structure. "C" shows a possible ripplebeneath the arrow and a possible ripple cross-lamination to the left of thearrow, along the surface the arrow tip touches. "D" is a scour surface orripple trough lamination. These features are consistent with sedimentationon a moist surface where wind-driven processes may also have occurred.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Exploration Rover (MER)
Instrument Host Opportunity (MER-B)
Host Type Rover
Instrument Microscopic Imager (MI) Panoramic Camera (Pancam)
Detector
Extra Keywords Grayscale
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2004-03-23
Date in Caption 2004-03-10
Image Credit NASA/JPL/Cornell
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA05623
Identifier PIA05623