MARTIAN GEOMORPHOLOGY

A GENERAL VIEW

CANYON SYSTEMS

EVIDENCES FOR FLUVIAL EROSION

There are channels on Mars as much as
1500 km long and 200 km wide that
appear to have been cut by running
water. Evidence for water erosion
suggests that the Martian atmosphere
may have been more dense in the past

The Red Planets surface is similar to that of the

Earth caused by various geomorphological agents.
These carved a plethora of valleys, volcanoes,
crates, dunes etc.

HOW IS IT SO EVIDENT ??
Mars doesnt have a thick atmosphere as
compared to earth and also no vegetation and no
animal habits are present. So, the morphology is
preserved for a longer time undisturbed.

The Martian surface has some large canyon systems.

The largest is Valles Marineris, which extends for
about 5000 km, is 500 km wide in the widest
portions, and as much as 6km deep. The enormous
system of connecting canyons appears to have been
formed mostly by local tectonic activity.

WHY MARS ?
Out of all the planets in the solar system, the Red
Planet has always been of keen interest to man the
main reason to be having Earth-like features. This
planet is the most prospectus one in the eyes of
scientists across the world as the most prospectus
one for human settlement as of now.

THE MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES

Fluvial Flow like canyons, valleys
Aeolian like dust storms and subsequent dunes
and ridges
Volcanic the shield volcanoes, largest volcano
in the solar system Olympus Mons is on Mars.
Extra-terrestrial impact Craters.
Glacial Polar Ice caps.
Landslides and escarpments
Formation of clouds
Hemispheric Dichotomy

ENORMOUS SHIELD VOLCANOES

POLAR ICE CAPS

Mars has polar caps that
shows waxing and waning
suggesting that the Mars has
seasons as the Earth.
Repeated freeze-thaw cycles
smooth out irregularities
and odd-shaped piles to
form patterned ground.

DUST STORMS
The volcanoes on Mars are now extinct, but they
indicate a preceding period of significant Martian
volcanism. By the volcanoes sloping pattern, we can
infer that the magma is mostly Basaltic as it has
lesser viscosity and has an ability to flow.

CRATERS
The surface of Mars exhibits
craters as a result of
meteorite collisions. There
are hundreds of thousands of
impact craters on Mars.

The atmosphere of Mars is

thin but this atmosphere
supports
high
velocity
seasonal winds that are
correlated with solar heating
and that produce dust
storms that lead to a lot of
surface erosion.

CLOUDS
The Martian atmosphere has only a
trace of water vapor; however, the
temperature and pressure is such
that the atmosphere is usually close
to saturation and produces clouds.