PIA14455: Light-Toned Layering in a Labyrinthus Noctis Pit


Light-Toned Layering in a Labyrinthus Noctis Pit

Caption:

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Understanding both the spatial and temporal distribution of hydrated (water-bearing) minerals on Mars is essential for deciphering the aqueous history of the planet. Over 300 meters of layered beds are exposed in this trough of Noctis Labyrinthus, at the western edge of Valles Marineris.

The beds are mixtures of light- and dark-toned materials, and include units that contain hydrated minerals, like sulfates and clays. Mapping these minerals and their stratigraphic relationships indicates numerous hydrologic and/or depositional events in localized environments spread over time.

The diversity of materials within the trough implies active hydrologic processes and/or changing chemical conditions, perhaps due to influxes of groundwater from nearby Tharsis volcanism.

This is a stereo pair with PSP_003910_1685 .

Background Info:

The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Cataloging Keywords:

Name Value Additional Values
Target Mars
System
Target Type Planet
Mission Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) Mariner
Instrument Host Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Host Type Orbiter Flyby Spacecraft
Instrument High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)
Detector
Extra Keywords Color, Map, Volcano, Water
Acquisition Date
Release Date 2017-01-03
Date in Caption
Image Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona
Source photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA14455
Identifier PIA14455