A young Martian
channel network is draped in hardened lava flows in this image from the Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter's high-resolution camera .
Geologist
Windy Jaeger and colleagues examined the feature – interpreted as part frozen
sea by researchers in 2005 – and concluded that lava had once filled the
channel system to the brim before draining away. That left a thin coating of
hard lava rock to preserve the underlying landscape. Other features include hydrovolcanic
cones that formed when water met lava and boiled explosively. The results can
be seen as small, conical and ring-shaped features visible in and around the
dune field.
Athabasca Valles
lies 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) southeast of the volcano Elysium Mons. Scientists
estimate the channel system to be anywhere from 2 million to 30 million years old,
which would still make it one of the youngest on Mars.
– NASA/JPL-Caltech and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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