Folded and faulted rocks at Noctis Labyrinthus, on Mars. I have long wondered to what extent tectonic deformation played a role in Mars' "geology." It's pretty clear that for much of its history, Mars has been more or less dead in terms of tectonism. Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano anywhere, is interpreted to be the equivalent of Earth's hot-spot volcanism erupting onto a stable, unmoving crust. So it was possible that the Martian crust was never really mobile. But you don't get features like those above without a least a little crustal motion. (Red Orbit)
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Noctis Labyrinthus
Folded and faulted rocks at Noctis Labyrinthus, on Mars. I have long wondered to what extent tectonic deformation played a role in Mars' "geology." It's pretty clear that for much of its history, Mars has been more or less dead in terms of tectonism. Olympus Mons, the largest known volcano anywhere, is interpreted to be the equivalent of Earth's hot-spot volcanism erupting onto a stable, unmoving crust. So it was possible that the Martian crust was never really mobile. But you don't get features like those above without a least a little crustal motion. (Red Orbit)
That is very, very cool.
ReplyDeleteCallan, did you check out the full size version? Amazing detail! (And I completely agree.)
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