Low-Order Inverted Streams near Juventae Chasma
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Low-Order Inverted Streams near Juventae Chasma
PSP_005346_1755  Science Theme: Fluvial Processes
This image shows plains northwest of Juventae Chasma, one of the Martian canyons that are part of the equatorial Valles Marineris system. The two most noticeable features in this scene are craters on mesas (plateaus) and raised, winding ridges.

The raised ridges are inverted channels. It is likely that liquid water, either pure or salt water, flowed through these channels. The channels are raised because streams transport sediment as they flow, deposit the heavier sediment on the stream floor, and, eventually fill in once their water supply dwindles. Over time, wind erosion modifies a landscape, and this has played an important role on these plains. It eroded the land around the channels leaving the remnant channels exposed and standing high. The channels did not erode as much since they were more resistant, possibly because the deposited sediment had cemented together.

The cutout (approximately 1120 meters across) shows a juncture of two of the inverted channels. It is likely that the water flowed from the left to the right of the scene, because channels usually join rather than divert unless there is an obvious obstacle in the way. No such obstacle is seen here, but one might have been present when the stream originally flowed. However, there is no way of knowing this.

The craters on mesas are also evidence of active wind erosion. When craters form, they eject material out onto the surrounding landscape. It appears that several of the craters’ ejecta visible here cemented, making the ejecta more resistant to erosion and leaving them standing high as craters on plateaus.

Written by: Kelly Kolb  (24 October 2007)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_020602_1755.
 
Acquisition date
17 September 2007

Local Mars time
14:15

Latitude (centered)
-4.297°

Longitude (East)
296.449°

Spacecraft altitude
263.1 km (163.5 miles)

Original image scale range
52.7 cm/pixel (with 2 x 2 binning) so objects ~158 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
50 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
1.0°

Phase angle
36.6°

Solar incidence angle
36°, with the Sun about 54° above the horizon

Solar longitude
315.1°, Northern Winter

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  341.8°
JPEG
Black and white
map projected  non-map

IRB color
map projected  non-map

Merged IRB
map projected

Merged RGB
map projected

RGB color
non-map projected

JP2
Black and white
map-projected   (373MB)

IRB color
map-projected   (164MB)

JP2 EXTRAS
Black and white
map-projected  (168MB)
non-map           (240MB)

IRB color
map projected  (77MB)
non-map           (202MB)

Merged IRB
map projected  (408MB)

Merged RGB
map-projected  (387MB)

RGB color
non map           (193MB)
ANAGLYPHS
Map-projected, reduced-resolution
Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
B&W label
Color label
Merged IRB label
Merged RGB label
EDR products
HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
About color products (PDF)

Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

USAGE POLICY
All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

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.