Channel on the Southern Flanks of Ascraeus Mons
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Channel on the Southern Flanks of Ascraeus Mons
PSP_003686_1865  Science Theme: Fluvial Processes
Ascraeus Mons is the northernmost of the three giant Tharsis Montes volcanoes, with large channels carved into the lower parts of its flanks.

There has been a long-standing debate whether these were eroded by flowing water or lava. The section seen in this HiRISE images favors the lava hypothesis, since the shapes of the "islands" in the channel are not as streamlined as would be expected from water erosion. Instead, they have the same shape as was seen in lava channels on the Earth, such as the early phases of the ongoing eruption of Kilauea volcano or the 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa volcano (both in Hawaii).

The very sharp bend in the channel is also uncommon for water carved channels and suggests that the erosion was taking advantage of weaknesses in the volcano caused by faults and fractures. Unfortunately, we cannot tell for sure what the fluid was because of the thick coating of dust. HiRISE reveals the intricate sculpting of this dust as the wind predominantly blows from northwest to southeast. However, in the channel, the wind generally runs down the channel, sometimes even going perpendicular to the wind outside it.



Written by: Laszlo Kestay  (6 June 2007)


This is a stereo pair with PSP_004174_1865.
 
Acquisition date
10 May 2007

Local Mars time
15:20

Latitude (centered)
6.578°

Longitude (East)
254.472°

Spacecraft altitude
262.8 km (163.3 miles)

Original image scale range
26.5 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~80 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
8.8°

Phase angle
64.5°

Solar incidence angle
56°, with the Sun about 34° above the horizon

Solar longitude
235.3°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  336.2°
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POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.