Cold-based mountain glaciers on Mars: Western Arsia Mons

Research Article| July 01, 2003 Cold-based mountain glaciers on Mars: Western Arsia Mons James W. Head; James W. Head 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar David R. Marchant David R. Marchant 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information James W. Head 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA David R. Marchant 1Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 29 Jan 2003 Revision Received: 11 Mar 2003 Accepted: 19 Mar 2003 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2003) 31 (7): 641–644. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0641:CMGOMW>2.0.CO;2 Article history Received: 29 Jan 2003 Revision Received: 11 Mar 2003 Accepted: 19 Mar 2003 First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation James W. Head, David R. Marchant; Cold-based mountain glaciers on Mars: Western Arsia Mons. Geology 2003;; 31 (7): 641–644. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0641:CMGOMW>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Surface environmental conditions on Mars are currently extremely cold and hyperarid, most equivalent to polar deserts on Earth. Coupling newly acquired Mars data with field-based observations regarding the flow, surface morphology, and depositional history of polar glaciers in Antarctica, we show that the multiple facies of an extensive fan-shaped deposit on the western flanks of Arsia Mons volcano are consistent with deposition from cold-based mountain glaciers. An outer ridged facies that consists of multiple laterally extensive, arcuate and parallel ridges, resting without disturbance on both well-preserved lava flows and an impact crater, is interpreted as drop moraines formed at the margin of an ablating and predominantly receding cold-based glacier. A knobby facies that consists of equidimensional knobs, each to several kilometers in diameter, is inward of the ridges; this facies is interpreted as a sublimation till derived from in situ downwasting of ash-rich glacier ice. A third facies comprising distinctive convex-outward lobes with concentric parallel ridges and aspect ratios elongated downslope likely represents rock-glacier deposits, some of which may still be underlain by a core of glacier ice. Taken together, these surficial deposits show that the western flank of Arsia Mons was occupied by an extensive mountain glacial system accumulating on, and emerging from, the upper slopes of the volcano and spreading downslope to form a piedmont-like fan. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.