Morava Valles (THEMIS_IOTD_20190905)
Located in Margaritifer Terra, Morava Valles is one of several channels that empty northward towards Chryse Planitia.
Chaos terrain (as seen here) is typified by regions of blocky, often steep sided, mesas interspersed with deep valleys. With time and erosion the valleys widen and the mesas become smaller.
It has been proposed that a catastrophic outflow of subsurface water creates the chaos and provides the surface flow creating the channel. Morava Valles arises from a region of chaos.
Chaos terrain is also found along the course of the channel and may occur when the channel flow fluid warms the subsurface ice creating additional release points for melted subsurface ice. This VIS image shows a region of chaos near the terminal end of Morava Valles.
This martian scene spans 18 x 64 kilometers (11 x 40 miles). To see where on Mars this area lies, and to download high-resolution versions of the image, go to themis.asu.edu/zoom-20190905a
See the Red Planet Report at redplanet.asu.edu for updates on Mars research and exploration. For more about Mars geology, check out the Mars-ePedia: marsed.asu.edu/marsepedia
For the latest THEMIS Mars images as received by mission scientists, see themis.asu.edu/livefrommars. To learn more about the THEMIS camera and its Mars images, see themis.asu.edu.
This image is in the public domain and may be republished free of charge. If used, please credit it as NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University.
Morava Valles (THEMIS_IOTD_20190905)
Located in Margaritifer Terra, Morava Valles is one of several channels that empty northward towards Chryse Planitia.
Chaos terrain (as seen here) is typified by regions of blocky, often steep sided, mesas interspersed with deep valleys. With time and erosion the valleys widen and the mesas become smaller.
It has been proposed that a catastrophic outflow of subsurface water creates the chaos and provides the surface flow creating the channel. Morava Valles arises from a region of chaos.
Chaos terrain is also found along the course of the channel and may occur when the channel flow fluid warms the subsurface ice creating additional release points for melted subsurface ice. This VIS image shows a region of chaos near the terminal end of Morava Valles.
This martian scene spans 18 x 64 kilometers (11 x 40 miles). To see where on Mars this area lies, and to download high-resolution versions of the image, go to themis.asu.edu/zoom-20190905a
See the Red Planet Report at redplanet.asu.edu for updates on Mars research and exploration. For more about Mars geology, check out the Mars-ePedia: marsed.asu.edu/marsepedia
For the latest THEMIS Mars images as received by mission scientists, see themis.asu.edu/livefrommars. To learn more about the THEMIS camera and its Mars images, see themis.asu.edu.
This image is in the public domain and may be republished free of charge. If used, please credit it as NASA/JPL-Caltech/Arizona State University.