Monday, July 18, 2011

Small Mounds in Chryse Planitia


The suggested area in this observation is characterized by a group of cones, shield-like features, and round mounds. They are a few hundred meters to kilometers in diameter but their heights are unknown.

Possible explanations for their formation include sedimentary (mud) volcanism and magmatic volcanism. HiRISE data would be essential for distinguishing these hypotheses.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

Note: This image is located in southern Chryse Planitia, north of the "mouth" of Simud Valles, and about halfway between the landing sites of Viking 1 and Pathfinder.

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