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Tharsis (7)
Tharsis () is a vast volcanic plateau centered near the equator in the western hemisphere of Mars. The region is home to the largest volcanoes in the Solar System, including the three enormous shield volcanoes Arsia Mons, Pavonis Mons, and Ascraeus Mons, which are collectively known as the Tharsis Montes. The tallest volcano on the planet, Olympus Mons, is often associated with the Tharsis region but is actually located off the western edge of the plateau. The name Tharsis is the Greco-Latin transliteration of the biblical Tarshish, the land at the western extremity of the known world. Location and size Tharsis can have many meanings depending on historical and scientific context. The name is commonly used in a broad sense to represent a continent-sized region of anomalously elevated terrain centered just south of the equator around longitude 265°E.Carr, M.H. (2006). ''The Surface of Mars;'' Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, p. 46. . Called the Tharsis bulge or Tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter
260px, MOLA topographic images of the two hemispheres of Mars. This image appeared on the cover of ''Science'' magazine in May 1999. The Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter (MOLA) was one of five instruments on the ''Mars Global Surveyor'' (MGS) spacecraft, which operated in Mars orbit from September 1997 to November 2006. However, the MOLA instrument transmitted altimetry data only until June 2001. The MOLA instrument transmitted infrared laser pulses towards Mars at a rate of 10 times per second, and measured the time of flight to determine the range (distance) of the MGS spacecraft to the Martian surface. The range measurements resulted in precise topographic maps of Mars. The precision maps are applicable to studies in geophysics, geology and atmospheric circulation. MOLA also functioned as a passive radiometer, and measured the radiance of the surface of Mars at 1064 nanometers. Planetary laser altimetry A laser altimeter is an instrument that measures the distance from an orbiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Topography
Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary science and is concerned with local detail in general, including not only relief, but also natural, artificial, and cultural features such as roads, land boundaries, and buildings. In the United States, topography often means specifically ''relief'', even though the USGS topographic maps record not just elevation contours, but also roads, populated places, structures, land boundaries, and so on. Topography in a narrow sense involves the recording of relief or terrain, the three-dimensional quality of the surface, and the identification of specific landforms; this is also known as geomorphometry. In modern usage, this involves generation of elevation data in digital form (DEM). It is often considered to include the graphic representation of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claritas Fossae
Claritas Fossae is a densely-dissected highland terrain on the Tharsis Rise of Mars, located immediately south of the Tharsis Montes. The fossae of the Claritas Fossae region are many superposed swarms of graben. Context Claritas Fossae is a group of troughs in the Phoenicis Lacus and Thaumasia quadrangles of Mars, located at 31.5 S and 104.1 W. The structure is 2,050.0 km long and was named after a classical albedo feature name. Geology Long narrow depressions on Mars are called fossae. This term is derived from Latin; therefore fossa is singular and fossae is plural. Troughs form when the crust is stretched until it breaks. The stretching can be due to the large weight of a nearby volcano. Fossae/pit craters are common near volcanoes in the Tharsis and Elysium regions. A trough often has two breaks with a middle section moving down, leaving steep cliffs along the sides; such a trough is called a graben. Gallery ESP 045526 1385flow.jpg, Curved ridge that probably ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thaumasia Plateau
The Thaumasia Plateau is a vast sloping volcanic plain in the western hemisphere of Mars, and is the most extensive component of the Tharsis Rise by area. Syria Planum, Solis Planum, Sinai Planum, and Thaumasia Planum are the constituent sectors of the plateau, which sits between 8 km and 4 km above the surrounding southern highlands. It is bounded by vestigial basement terrains that predate the formation of Tharsis. This area has been proposed to be a drainage basin that sourced the floodwaters forming the outflow channels surrounding Chryse Planitia. Context The Thaumasia Plateau lies at the heart of the Tharsis Rise, and is framed to the northwest by the Noctis Labyrinthus fracture zone and the Valles Marineris chasmata (particularly, Ius Chasma, Melas Chasma, and Coprates Chasma, from northwest to northeast). Older Noachian basement crust, likely predating the formation of Tharsis, bound the Thaumasia Plateau to the west ( Claritas Rise and the Claritas Fossae), the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terra Sirenum
Terra Sirenum is a large region in the southern hemisphere of the planet Mars. It is centered at and covers 3900 km at its broadest extent. It covers latitudes 10 to 70 South and longitudes 110 to 180 W. Terra Sirenum is an upland area notable for massive cratering including the large Newton Crater. Terra Sirenum is in the Phaethontis quadrangle and the Memnonia quadrangle of Mars. A low area in Terra Sirenum is believed to have once held a lake that eventually drained through Ma'adim Vallis. Terra Sirenum is named after the Sirens, who were birds with the heads of girls. In the ''Odyssey'' these girls captured passing seamen and killed them. Chloride deposits Evidence of deposits of chloride based minerals in Terra Sirenum was discovered by the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter's Thermal Emission Imaging System in March 2008. The deposits are approximately 3.5 to 3.9 billion years old. This suggests that near-surface water was widespread in early Martian history, which ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memnonia Quadrangle
The Memnonia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Memnonia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-16 (Mars Chart-16). The quadrangle is a region of Mars that covers latitude -30° to 0° and longitude 135° to 180°. The western part of Memnonia is a highly cratered highland region that exhibits a large range of crater degradation. Memnonia includes these topographical regions of Mars: * Arcadia Planitia * Amazonis Planitia * Lucus Planum * Terra Sirenum * Daedalia Planum * Terra Cimmeria Recently, evidence of water was found in the area. Layered sedimentary rocks were found in the wall and floor of Columbus Crater. These rocks could have been deposited by water or by wind. Hydrated minerals were found in some of the layers, so water may have been involved. Many ancient river valleys including Mangala Vallis, have been found in the Memnonia quadrangle. Mangala app ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daedalia Planum
Daedalia Planum is a plain on Mars located south of Arsia Mons at and appears to be relatively featureless plain with multiple lava flows and small craters. It is mostly in the Memnonia quadrangle, but parts are in Tharsis quadrangle and Phoenicis Lacus quadrangle. Modern imagery suggests that it may more accurately be called a "fluctus" rather than a "planum". There is evidence that an ancient 4500 km-diameter impact basin formed in the Noachian epoch may be centered in Daedalia Planum. Wikimolaargyre.jpg, MOLA map showing boundaries of Daedalia Planum and other regions. Colors show elevations. ESP 035848 1510memnoniacraterlayers.jpg, Layers in crater wall, as seen by HiRISE under HiWish program ESP 039673 1705layeredbuttes.jpg, Layers exposed at the base of a group of buttes in Mangala Valles in Memnonia quadrangle The Memnonia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceraunius Fossae
The Ceraunius Fossae are a set of fractures in the northern Tharsis region of Mars. They lie directly south of the large volcano Alba Mons and consist of numerous parallel faults and tension cracks that deform the ancient highland crust.Carr, M.H. (2006). ''The Surface of Mars;'' Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, p. 87. . In places, younger lava flows cover the fractured terrain, dividing it into several large patches or islands.Raitala, J. (1988). Composite Graben Tectonics of Alba Patera on Mars. ''Earth, Moon, and Planets,'' 42, 277–291. They are found in the Tharsis quadrangle. The faults are mainly narrow, north-south oriented graben. Graben (the name is both singular and plural) are long, narrow troughs bound by two inward-facing normal faults that enclose a downfaulted block of crust. The graben in the Ceraunius Fossae are commonly several kilometers wide, between 100 and slightly over 1000 m deep, and very closely spaced, giving the terrain a rugged ridg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing house specializing in monographs and scholarly journals. Most are nonprofit organizations and an integral component of a large research university. They publish work that has been reviewed by schola ... in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Press is a department of the University of Cambridge and is both an academic and educational publisher. It became part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, following a merger with Cambridge Assessment in 2021. With a global sales presence, publishing hubs, and offices in more than 40 Country, countries, it publishes over 50,000 titles by authors from over 100 countries. Its publishing includes more than 380 academic journals, monographs, reference works, school and uni ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physiographic
Physical geography (also known as physiography) is one of the three main branches of geography. Physical geography is the branch of natural science which deals with the processes and patterns in the natural environment such as the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. This focus is in contrast with the branch of human geography, which focuses on the built environment, and technical geography, which focuses on using, studying, and creating tools to obtain,analyze, interpret, and understand spatial information. The three branches have significant overlap, however. Sub-branches Physical geography can be divided into several branches or related fields, as follows: * Geomorphology is concerned with understanding the surface of the Earth and the processes by which it is shaped, both at the present as well as in the past. Geomorphology as a field has several sub-fields that deal with the specific landforms of various environments e.g. desert geomorphology and fluvial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thaumasia Quadrangle
The Thaumasia quadrangle is one of a series of 30 quadrangle maps of Mars used by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Astrogeology Research Program. The Thaumasia quadrangle is also referred to as MC-25 (Mars Chart-25). The name comes from Thaumas, the god of the clouds and celestial apparitions. The Thaumasia quadrangle covers the area from 60° to 120° west longitude and 30° to 65° south latitude on Mars. The Thaumasia quadrangle contains many different regions or parts of many regions: Solis Planum, Icaria Planum, Aonia Terra, Aonia Planum, Bosporus Planum, and Thaumasia Planum. One of the first major networks of stream channels, called Warrego Valles, were discovered here by early orbiters. Another sign of water is the presence of gullies carved into steep slopes. Martian Gullies Gullies are common in some parts of Mars. Gullies occur on steep slopes, especially on the walls of craters. Martian gullies are believed to be relatively young because they have few, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
