Landslides on Mars: Evidence of ancient glaciers?

Gaia Stucky de Quay

Basins Research Group (BRG)
Imperial College London
g.stucky-de-quay14@ic.ac.uk

Dynamic
climate

Active
Tectonics

Human
activity

Subsurface

Rivers/Ocean
Snow/Rain
Erosion

Volcanic
Earthquakes
Liquefaction

Construction
Blasting
Deforestation

Vegetation
Soil
Groundwater

Landslides on Mars: Evidence of ancient glaciers?

10 km

2 km

Structure

Background
PART I: Building a landslide
catalogue

PART II: In-depth study of

small-scale failure

Summary
Introduction

Background & Literature

Valles Marineris

Grand canyon
18 miles wide, 1 mile deep

(4000 km long)

Sharp, 1973
(Mariner 9)

Comparison to terrestrial processes

Massive
runout/
volume

Morphology?

Sherman Landslide,
Alaska
(1966)

Longitudina
l ridges

Google Earth
(CTX)

Emplacement?

WET

Melting ice lenses Debris flow Ground ice

Groundwater Subaqueous (lacustrine) Surface ice

vs.

DRY

Origin?
Marsquakes &
increased shear
stresses

Lubricated by debris/air Dispersive grain flow Basal lubrication

Bulk fluidization
Sliding on a cushion of steam
Introduction

Blocky/
hummock
y

PART I: Building a landslide catalogue

1. Past and current catalogues (10-103)
2. Data and methodology
3. Morphometric variables
What to measure?

AS

EH

AD
T

D
EB

wi
R
LR

1. Program: ArcGIS + Google Earth

2. Data: CTX (5m/px) + HRSC (13m/px)

<
Introduction

LD

wf

Wc
(x,y)

Catalog Results: Maps and variables

Map of 255
landslides in Valles
Marineris
(complete for
landslides A > 0.42
km2)
Logarithmic sizes!

Population density
Introduction

Variable distribution: Runout & mobility

Factors affecting distribution?

-Canyon width
-Geology
-Fluvial/glacial/periglacial/hydrothermal
processes
Introduction

Long runouts: H/L vs. Volume plot

-Distinct behavioral
groups
-Slope and position of
saturated flows is v.
different

Terrestrial

-Martian data scattered

-Seems to fit more
closely to terrestrial
avalanche
-However, break in
slope at much larger
volumes...

Martian
Icy/glacial

-What could this mean?

Enhanced fluidization
due to size
High fluidization

Introduction

Age vs. Size: Enhanced (ancient) fluidization?

Landslide ages as measured by Quantin et al. (2004)

-Small landslides appear at all ages

-Larger landslides are more frequent in the past
(bounded by red line)
-If larger landslides = more fluidized, and
larger landslides = older, then it follows that
older landslides = more fluidized
Introduction

Landslide
emplacement not
uniform in time!

PART II: In-depth study of failure

Now that we have an understanding of
Martian landslides on a planetary scale...

Geological
setting

Build a 3D
Digital Terrain
Model
(DTM)

Emplacemen
t models

CTX Image G02_019178_1717

(20m/px)

Introduction

Volumes &
ages

Terrestrial
analogs

Topographica
l analysis

Geological Setting
Simple relative timeline:
1. Formation of trough
2. On-going rifting (normal faulting)
3. Hydrous conditions (channels)
both on plateau and canyon floor
4. Landslides occurred
(synchronously?)
5. Wind erosion (yardang, inverted
channels, aeolian deposits in
depressions)

Introduction

Volume and Ages

1. Surface/volume changes

2. Crater counting

(1)

102

1 Ga

100

East Landslide, area=3.8x100 km2

111 craters, N(1)=3.6x100 km-2

Ma

101

(2)

Can compare deposit

volume (1) to the slope
volume (2)

km3,

km3

Vf = 1.29
1.37
Vi = 2.1 km3, 5.4 km3
39-75% mass deficit

Cumulative crater frequency, km-2

75.2+-7.1
7.1 Ma
100

10-1

10-2

10-3

Porosity in landslide source = ice reservoir?

Age = Amazonian

Epochs: Mars, Michael (2013)

PF: Mars, Ivanov (2001)
CF: Mars, Hartmann & Neukum (2001)

10-4
10-3

Introduction

10-2

10-1
Diameter, km

100

101

Terrestrial Analogues I: Glacier Bay, 2014

February 16th,
Alaska (2014)

Main differences:
Thickness: 200 m vs. 13m
Floor topography
Wall slope (30 to 0 vs. constant 14)
Snow and ice-capped terrain (vs. traveling on rock)
Uneven martian floor
Height of fall (m vs. km)
H/L = 0.27 (M), 0.22 (GB)
Introduction

Terrestrial Analogues I
b) Glacier Bay landslide (2014)

a) Martian west landslide

longitudinal ridges

spreading

spreading
primary flow lobe

accumulated deposits

primary flow lobe

secondary flow lobe

Longitudinal ridges are a classic glacial/

Alaskan failure feature (very rarely occur
elsewhere on Earth)

Shear velocities + basal

lubrication: need a soft base
and viscous layer
(De Blasio 2014)

Exist in ~ 55% of Martian landslides

Introduction

Topography Analysis

What could have shaped these 3 distinct

features (on both deposits)?
Introduction

Emplacement models: Deglaciation faulting

Introduction

Emplacement models: Debris detachment

Introduction

Emplacement models: Basal Scouring

Introduction

Glaciation Evidence: GCMs and Landforms

1. Obliquity and
Climate models

Net surface gain of ice over a year (mm) [Madeleine et al. 2009]

Proposed extent of glaciation and supraglacial landslide[Gourronc et al. 2013]

2. Geomorphological
systems and landforms

Introduction

Summary

PART I:
Catalogue &
large-scale
landslide
statistics

PART II:
DTM and smallscale landslide
features

1. Variety of scales/frequencies/formations
2. Driving forces must exceed geological control
3. Larger/mobile events in wider canyons
4. Favorable conditions in these areas (volatiles)
5. Larger landslides have larger mobilities
6. These could be much older and suggest a more fluidized
past (ie. glacial environment)
1. Ages places the landslides around 75 Mya
2. Volume shows 3/4 of material could have contained ice
3. Comparison to Glacier Bay shows very similar features
4. Topographic analysis shows 3 distinct structures on both slides
(relying on a soft, low-friction, widespread and transient layer)
5. Emplacement models with ice can explain these
6. Glaciation in Valles Marineris is supported both by geological
evidence and GCMs

Introduction

Next steps...

Introduction