A Transition from Depressed to Inverted Channels in Gorgonum Basin
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
A Transition from Depressed to Inverted Channels in Gorgonum Basin
ESP_046201_1430  Science Theme: Fluvial Processes
This image shows a transition from depressed to inverted channels in the Gorgonum Basin. In the darker terrain, there are two channels that display depressed topography. As these two channels cross into the underlying brighter terrain, the channels now stand above the surrounding area, indicating they are inverted in topography.

This change from depressed to inverted topography is the result of what is called “differential erosion.” The channel may contain hardened sediments or have cements that make it more resistant to erosion relative to the darker terrain that once flowed through it. As a result, erosion has removed the less resistant upper darker terrain, leaving behind the more resistant channel standing above the underlying bright terrain.

Written by: Cathy Weitz (narration: Tre Gibbs)  (5 October 2016)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_055220_1430.
 
Acquisition date
04 June 2016

Local Mars time
15:31

Latitude (centered)
-36.685°

Longitude (East)
193.734°

Spacecraft altitude
252.8 km (157.1 miles)

Original image scale range
25.4 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~76 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
5.8°

Phase angle
61.6°

Solar incidence angle
66°, with the Sun about 24° above the horizon

Solar longitude
163.4°, Northern Summer

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  36.6°
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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.