Tag Archives: volcanic ash

Volcanic ash: Major source of Mars dust?

[Editor’s note: From a paper by Charlie Bristow and Torsten Moller, recently published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] Dust Production by Abrasion of Eolian Basalt Sands: Analogue for Martian Dust • Collisions between particles and surfaces during eolian abrasion … Continue reading

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THEMIS: Channels in volcanic ash

THEMIS Image of the Day, August 22, 2018. Tyrrhenus Mons is one of the oldest martian volcanoes and Tyrrhena Fossae is the largest of the channels dissecting the volcano. As well as being one of the oldest volcanoes, it is … Continue reading

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Many bedrock plains are clastic rocks, not lavas

The Martian surface is dominated by loose dust, sands, and rocks, but high spatial resolution imaging has permitted the detection of numerous flat-lying exposures of ancient, intact bedrock. These “bedrock plains” have previously been interpreted as lava sequences, perhaps similar … Continue reading

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Thaumasia’s volcanic clues to Mars evolution

Researcher Don Hood from Louisiana State University and colleagues at collaborating universities studied an unusual region on Mars — an area with high elevation called Thaumasia Planum. They analyzed the geography and mineralogy of this area they termed Greater Thaumasia, which … Continue reading

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Supervolcanos in Arabia on Mars: Update

The idea of giant volcanos erupting in Arabia was proposed by Joseph Michalski (Planetary Science Institute) in a talk at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in March 2013. Michalski and coauthor Jacob Bleacher (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center) have … Continue reading

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Explosive eruptions in dense ancient atmospheres

Explosive volcanic eruptions on an earlier Mars with a thicker atmosphere would have scattered fine ash (pyroclastic debris) mainly east or west of the volcano, a new study finds. Also, a denser ancient atmosphere supports the addition of Arsia and … Continue reading

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