MDRS EXPEDITION GUIDEplanetologia.elte.hu/mdrs-geo-low.pdf · MDRS EXPEDITION GUIDE Geography final Report of crew nl (ljjp) and crew qk (“HungaroMars ljjr”) Edited by Henrik

Geography Final Report of MDRS Crew 42 and 71 (HungaroMars2008) edited by Henrik Hargitai

MDRSEXPEDITION

GUIDE

uunnooffffiicciiaall

MDR S EXPEDITION GUIDE Geography final Report of crew 42 (2006) and crew 71 (“HungaroMars2008”)

Edited by Henrik i. Hargitaimdrs crew 42 Mission Geographermdrs crew 71 commander cosmic Materials Space Research Group, Eötvös loránd university, 1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/a, [email protected]

MDRSEXPEDITION

GUIDE

Edited by Henrik Hargitai

Published by the cosmic Materials Space Research Group, Eötvös loránd university; Budapest–MDRS, 2008

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New Copernicus Hwy

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Henry Street

Radio

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Rad

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Lowell H

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Low

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Lowell Highway

Hubble Highw

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Hubble H

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Rope Rescue

Blind Corner

Collapsed Road

Impassable Wash

HIPPO

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AREA 42

MIRRORS

ONO RIDGE

FLAG HILL

BOX CANYON

ARSIA MONS

LADY DUNES

MHS VALLEY

MINE FIELD

SPRING HILL

VALLES LUNA

LUNA MONTES

FOSSIL ROCK

BABY DRAGON

POINTY PEAK

COUGAR HILL

LITH CANYON

EDDIE'S HILL

SANDI'S HILL

PAVONIS MONS

OLYMPUS MONS

HARRIS HILLS

ERICA'S HILL

TOOTHY RIDGE

SHEEP KNOLLS

T-REX CANYON

TURTLE HILLS

FIRE HYDRANT

ROLF'S RIDGE

GREEN VALLEY

PHOBOS PHOOT

HEIDI'S HILL

PHOBOS FLANK

FAMILY CREST

MB'S MOUNTAIN

ASCRAEUS MONS

ESZTER'S HILL

BECKY'S RIDGE

REBECCA RIDGEMOUNT NUTELLA

POTHOLE FIELD

BOULDER FIELD

MOUNT SAGEWOOD

THIELGES FLATS

MAXWELL MONTES

SNOSHTI CANYON

BURGENER RIDGEPAUL'S SANDBOX

BARBARA'S HILL

DAISY AND DUKE

STRIPED DRAGON

CAMEL TOE DRAW

FLAT ROCK PARK

MARLIS' MEADOW

CLARA'S CANYON

SERENITY VALLEY

UTOPIA PLANITIA

ANNE'S MOUNTAIN

MURPHY'S CANYON

MUDSTONE MOUNDS

HUBBLE PLANITIA

SHANNON'S RANGE

HILDEGARD HILLS

SLEEPING IGUANA

COLLAPSING WALL

SANJEROONI BUTTE

VALLES MARINERIS

HELIUM HIGHLANDS

HALF CLICK RIDGE

HALF PIPE CANYON

WINDCATCHER HILL

SALTY BLACK HILLS

SCHUBERT PLANITIA

SALTY BLACK HILLS

SALTY BEIGE HILLS

RED WALLED CANYON

SMALL VISTA BUTTE

WHITE ROCK CANYON

MID RIDGE PLANITIA

WHITE TOP MOUNTAIN

PATHFINDER OUTWASH

BOULDERDASH CANYON

STIPED DRAGON NORTH

NEAT LITTLE PLATEAU

MOUND TRICOLOR SOIL

HUBBLE CANYON 01 PAN

HUBBLE PLANITIA 01 PAN

AMBER AND ANDREWS PLAYGROUN

MORGAN AND LILI'S PLAYGROUN

Anvil

Archie

Scylla

Orthanc

Cow Gate

Ant Ares

Overhang

Y Ravine

Salt Lick

47 Onions

Dune Pass

Gecko Bay

Tree Gate

Deer View

Charybdis

Wind Face

Brand Bend

Husar Pass

Beehive 24

Stonehenge

The Pillar

Clara Pass

Funny Face

Thayer Joch

Cattle Cove

Canton Cave

Robbi's Bed

Chluda Pass

COWgirl RISe

Thoar Tirala

Goose Glouch

Kabo's Kliff

Hundred Ants

Hutti's Dream

Judith's Cave

Byron's Ridge

Piece of Cake

Picknick Area

Clara's Cliff

Sunday Pointe

Zubrin's Head

Wash Dead End

Schubert Pass

Kap AustroMars

Repeater Point

Shortcut South

River Crossing

Dimitri Corner

Faux Dinosaurs

CommanDeR's LOG

Kap Austro Mars

AustroMars GateAustroMars Gate

Big Daddy Point

Telegraph Point

Andrea's Quarry

Brussels Sprout

Hubert's Heaven

Gargoyle Gallery

Blue Devils Pass

UFO Landing Site

Bin Laden's Cave

Blecken's Boulder

Balloon Launch Pad

Skyline Rim Repeater

CoPernicus North Fence

Kyle's Reflection Rock

Large Sandstone Rock Fall

Reservoir Water Sample Park

Candor Chasma Access Parkin

Phobos PeakNadia's Peak

Widow's Peak

Beehive Peak

Edilweiss Peak

Patricia's Peak

SKYLINE RIM

RADIO RIDGE

RADIO RANGE

CANDOR CHASMA

Tech T

Dead End

Route 66

Rest Stop

Onion Tea

Oyster Turn

New Route 66

Cactus Corner

Four Way Stop

Clara's Corner

Highway Turnoff

Jennifer Junction

Sagan Street Start

Laura's Turnaround

Cow Dung Road Exit

Conjunction Junction

HAB

HabView

Zecie's Vista

Toast Lookout

Panorama Point

Andreas Buena Vista

Sun Rock

Spice Field

Oyster Field

Olivia's Rock

Fossil Shells

Oyster Shells

Ignious Field

Paul's Sandpit

Carina's Quarry

Glistening Seas

Mellow Mushrooms

Barsoom Outcrops

Huge Fossil Field Sedimentary Outcrop

C52S2 - Mancos Shale

C52S1 - Chert hypoliths

Motherload of Concretions

Calcite And Hematite Concre

514000

514000

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0 740 1 480370 meterMap of the Mars Desert Research Station area 1:10 000NOTE: This map is NOT valid after April 2008. For up-to-date nomenclature and waypoint information, consult the MDRS website.

iinnDDEEXX MMaaPP

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SHANNON'S RANGE

HILDEGARD HILLS

WINDCATCHER HILL

STIPED DRAGON NORTH

MOUND TRICOLOR SOIL


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Ant Ares

Dune Pass

Stonehenge

Clara Pass

Hundred Ants

Picknick Area

Gargoyle Gallery

Blue Devils Pass

Balloon Launch Pad


Phobos Peak

Sagan Street Start

Cow Dung Road Exit

HAB

HabView

Mellow Mushrooms

518100

518100

518200

518200

518300

518300

518400

518400

518500

518500

518600

518600

518700

518700

518800

518800

518900

518900

519000

519000

519100

519100

519200

519200

519300

519300

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519400

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noTE: is map is not valid aer april 2008. for up-to-date information on nomenclature and waypoints, please consult the MDRS website at http://desert.marssociety.org/mdrs06d.asp

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BECKY'S RIDGE

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BOULDER FIELD

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BARBARA'S HILL

STRIPED DRAGON

CAMEL TOE DRAW

SHANNON'S RANGE

HILDEGARD HILLS

SLEEPING IGUANA

COLLAPSING WALL

WINDCATCHER HILL

STIPED DRAGON NORTH

MOUND TRICOLOR SOIL


Ant Ares

Dune Pass

Stonehenge

Clara Pass

COWgirl RISe

Piece of Cake

Picknick Area

Sunday Pointe

Repeater Point

Gargoyle Gallery

Blue Devils PassBalloon Launch Pad


Phobos Peak

RADIO RIDGE

Sagan Street Start

Cow Dung Road Exit

HAB

HabView

Fossil Shells

Mellow Mushrooms



517700

517700

517800

517800

517900

517900

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518000

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0 4251

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0 200 400100 meterMap of the Mars Desert Research Station area 1:10 0009 108 1 3

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Unnam

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PAVONIS MONS

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PHOBOS PHOOT PHOBOS FLANK

ASCRAEUS MONS

ESZTER'S HILL

BECKY'S RIDGE


BOULDER FIELD

MOUNT SAGEWOODBARBARA'S HILL

FLAT ROCK PARK

VALLES MARINERIS

MOUND TRICOLOR SOILAnt Ares

Dune Pass

Tree Gate

Stonehenge

Goose Glouch

Kabo's Kliff

Big Daddy Point

Hubert's Heaven

Gargoyle Gallery

Blue Devils Pass




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Ignious Field

Mellow Mushrooms

518700

518700

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518800

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518900

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0 200 400100 meterMap of the Mars Desert Research Station area 1:10 00010

2 31 5

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Unn

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ArchieGecko Bay

Tree Gate

Goose Glouch

Kabo's Kliff

Big Daddy Point

Hubert's Heaven


Nadia's Peak

CANDOR CHASMA

Rest StopToast Lookout

Spice FieldIgnious Field

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SANDI'S HILL

MAXWELL MONTES

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Patricia's Peak

Cactus Corner

Four Way Stop

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Andreas Buena Vista

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HEIDI'S HILL

ASCRAEUS MONS

REBECCA RIDGE

MOUNT NUTELLA

SCHUBERT PLANITIA

PATHFINDER OUTWASH

Sunday Pointe

Repeater Point

Shortcut South


Sagan Street Start

Sedimentary Outcrop

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HEIDI'S HILL

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Chluda Pass

Dimitri Corner

UFO Landing Site

Tech T

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Jennifer JunctionPanorama Point

Oyster Field

Carina's Quarry

Glistening Seas

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ONO RIDGESPRING HILL FOSSIL ROCK

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Husar Pass

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Cattle Cove

Canton Cave

Robbi's Bed

Byron's Ridge

CommanDeR's LOG

Andrea's Quarry

Brussels Sprout


Beehive Peak

Route 66

New Route 66

Laura's Turnaround

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SKYLINE RIM

Cactus Corner

Four Way Stop


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Widow's PeakTech T

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Zecie's Vista

Panorama Point


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MARLIS' MEADOW

CLARA'S CANYON

MUDSTONE MOUNDS

HUBBLE PLANITIA

SANJEROONI BUTTE

HELIUM HIGHLANDS

HALF PIPE CANYON

SALTY BLACK HILLS

MID RIDGE PLANITIA


Orthanc

Salt Lick

Deer View

Beehive 24

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Clara's Cliff

Wash Dead End

Kap AustroMars

Kap Austro Mars

AustroMars Gate

Salt Bush rd Bridge



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SKYLINE RIM

Cactus Corner


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Huge Fossil Field

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22

aaBBSSTTRRaaccTT Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) is located in the semiarid badland area of utah, where mainly flu-vial erosion shapes the surface. e appearance of the area is Mars-like not only because of the its red color and the barrenbadland surface but because we can find numerous analogs to Mars in both geomorphology and geoprocesses that are orhave been present in the surrondings of Mars Society’s Mars Desert Research Station, the habitat, where crews spend 2week periods to simulate isolated life and work of a future Mars Base.

BACKGROUND

During the period 14–21 January, 2006, and later during12-26 april 2008 we had an opportunity to explore thebadland - an arid semide-sert area located northwest ofHanksville, utah as part of Mars Society’s human Marsmission simulation project. e habitate is located at38,4°n, 110,8° W or 518233E 4250727n uTM naD, at1367 m height. e simulation is a closed one, isolatedfrom the outside environ-ment, using space suit (simula-tors) for EVas or field works. ree of the four major deserts of north america are con-tained within a geological region called the Basin andRange Province, lying between the Rocky Mountains tothe east and the Sierra nevadas to the west. is area is inthe southeasternmost part of the Great Basin deserts.

Most erosion occured 1-6 million years ago(nsp.gov). e landscape is now carved by water. Massmovements are also important shaping the landscape.Wind is minor agent of erosion.

e main features in the 8x10 km wide area are wellrounded red, grey and beige hills with a covering ofsmooth material that erodes eas-ily, and are sometimescapped by a more resistant, ocre layer of sandstone thatusually breaks into large boulders that falls from the top tothe foot of the hills.

is heavily eroded badland area ends in high cliffs inall directions. on the other side of the cliffs high plainscan be found that are com-posed of resistant rocks. Ero-sion on these plains have not yet reached the least resistantlayers and are covered by scarce vegetation that also helpspreventing massive erosion. is area is closest to the Sta-tion to the west, where Radio Ridge leads to the highlandarea called lower Blue Mountains. e next scarp to thewest is called Skyline Rim, which leads to the highest re-mains of the ancient strata, factory Butte. To the north,the permanent river Muddy creak was the borderline ofour investigation.

23

CONTENTS Maps 4Background 22climate 24Geologic Setting 26colors 28clay Minerals 28Regolith 29Soil – polygonal patterns

30Boulder Pavement 32Erosion 33Badland 33Mesas, Buttes 34aeolian processes 35Wind tails 35Wind etching 36Desert pavement 37fluvial pebble fields 38Sand grains 39Ripple marks 39Ventifacts 40Mass movements 41landslides 41Weathering 42Differential Erosion 43aveolar weathering 44layered rocks 47Physical weathering 48Round rocks 48angular weathering 49local rock gardens 49Blocky weathering 49Exfolation 50Potholes 51Streams, valleys, riverbeds,

wadis 52Gullies 55canyons 55Soil processes 56Slope processes 57cliff ridges 58Rock falls 58

Erosion cycle 59concretions 60Sulfates, salts 61Desert varnish 63Duricrust 63Vegetation 64animal life 65Biogenic patterns on rocks

66change detection 67change detection – the

big picture 72nomenclature 75References 76

24

CLIMATEe high elevation, cold desert area is located in SE utah,in the rain shadow of coastal mountain ranges (Sierra ne-vada). By definition it is a semidesert because its precipita-tion is between 250-500 mm. it is a cold desert, because itsannual average temperature is 12°c (in fact the theoreticallimit is 11°c) (ESD oRnl 1998) and in winter snow isthe dominant form of precipitation (it is at 1350 m eleva-tion: closer to snowline that deserts at seal level). it is abasin desert (orographic desert), because it is betweenSierra nevada and the Rocky Mountains. Wind comesfrom the west as föhn: hot and dry. e moisture is re-leased before reaching the area, in the western side of themountain.Summers are warm and dry, winters are cold and wet.Yearly average temperature is 12,8 c (-1c in January, 26cJuly), Potential annual evapotranspiration is 781 mm (169mm in July, 0 mm in Jan), while annual precipitation is228 mm which occurs equally during the year (roughly 20mm/month), as snow in winter (half of its moisture, there-fore it is called a cold desert), and as rain/torrential rain inthe summer (in July and august, usually in the form ofheavy thunderstorms which may temporarily wash outroads). Rain typically falls in amounts greater than the soilcan absorbe, and flash flooding from runoff is common. inwinter water from melting snow converts the porous sur-face of mudstone hills into real mud. Since potential evapotranspiration is 553 mm higher thanactual precipitation, the area is (semi)arid. Relative humidity is low, and there is little or no cloudcover. Spring and summertime daily tempereature changeis high (in april 2008: -2..22 c). Rapid heating and cool-ing leads to high winds (due to the lack of clouds, vegeta-tion and low humidity and), which increase evaporation.( Jablonsky 1994). High winds (april 2008: up to 60km/h) cause dust storms and can create aeolian landforms.Temperature change is much less during high winds. Relative humidity changes as an inverse function of tem-perature (high during the night) which affects vegeration(flowers are blooming during the night hours).

Morphogenetic regions for climate related landforms on Earth[adapted om Baker (2001) and Marchant and Head (2007)].Dashed oval shows region comprising the Antarctic Dry Valleys. Alsoplotted are modern Mars conditions at 30°,50°, and 60° latitudes, aswell as an ancient Mars at 300 and 1000 mbar.

Climate diagram of thearea. http://www.glob-

albioclimatics.org/

25

Diurnal temperature variation on Mars, at Viking-2 Landing Site (Utopia Planitia). ere is no significant change om day to day, as opposed to Earth.e temperature variation is, however, twice as large as on Earth, because of the thin atmosphere.

Air, surface and subsurface temperatures at MDRSon 22-25 April, 2008. Green and red measurementsmade by in-built data logger thermometers (notcalibrated, in the sun in the aernoon), othersmade by Hume Meteorologial Station. Note theoffset in time for soil temperature measurements of10 and 20 cm. During daytime the warmest is onthe surface, the air and subsurface is less warm.During nighttime (aer sunset) surface and airtemperatures are similar while soil temperaturesare warmer then air.

Max/at Min/at Dirunal ChangeAir 18° 16h -2° 06h 20°Surf. 30° 16h -2° 06h 32°2 cm 29° 16h 6° 07h 23°5 cm 26° 16.30 8° 07.30 18°10 cm 21° 20h 14° 10h 7°20 cm 17° 23h 13° 13h 4°

%/°c

30

25

20

15

10

5

0Temperature (blue and purple, °C) and relative humidity (green and red, %), 10 days in the period April 13-29 2008 recorded by HungarosMars HumeMeteorological Station. Anomalious data are due strong wind.

%

26

GEOLOGIC SETTING

From upper to lower layerse layers of the area are horizontal which suggest the lackof tectonic activity. MMaannccooss SShhaallee e cliff of Skyline Rim are composed of theMancos Shale formation. laid down by a sea advance andretreat. factory Butte. composed of yellow fluvial to mar-ginal marine sand. DDaakkoottaa ffoorrmmaattiioonn ocre, resistant layers of cretaceousDakota Sandstone formation, a result of seacost advanc-ing. it contains beach sand, coal and marine oyster fossils(Gryphaea or Devil’s Toenail) which are abundant at thesurface of the high plains just next to Radio Ridge.

Dakota sandstones are the uppermost layer of thehigh plains area west to MDRS and these are the upper-most layers (capstones) of most mesas or buttes that can befound in the badland region. in most mesas, however, thislayer has been eroded away by now. nothern plains are cov-ered with sand; aeolian features are common; this area hasclosely spaced vegetation cover featuring cacti; vegetationis a core of small mounds with wind tails; sandstone there-fore is more suitable for vegetation that mudstone; whichmight be explained by the high salinity of mudstone.

MMoorrrriissoonn ffoorrmmaattiioonn (type locality: Morrison, Jeffersoncounty, colorado) e main layers of the MDRS area arecomposed of Jurrasic Morrison formation (Barnes 1978)which in many cases have a reddish color.

in general, red, gray, and white mudstone units are in-terbedded with lenticular sandstone and pebble-conglom-erate deposits that represent alluvial channels (streams)within a floodplain and lacustrine (freshwater lake) deposi-tional paleoenvironment, which gave home to several di-nosaur species. its bones can be found together with

Schematic representation of the stratigraphy of southeastern Utah. icknesses are not shown to scale. From Draut 2005.

Le: Devil’s Toenails om Radio Ridge Right: Coal om

petrified wood at the lith canyon region. e Morrisonformation also contains volcanic ash materials that give agrey hue to its strata.

Brushy Basin member (upper half, 60-100 m) erodesinto color-banded hills of mudstones (lith canyon). itcomprises variegated sand-stone, mudstone, siltstone. itcontains smectite, which dries to a popcorn like surface(Bentonite Hills). Bentonitic clays are inhospitible forplants.

Morrison formation’s Salt Wash member (lower half,30-150 m), deposited as an immense alluvial fan, consistsof light colored cross-bedded sandstone and pebble con-glomerates (ridge-forming), interbedded with red andgreen shales with an admixture of grey volcanic ash. it wasdeposited as streams laid down mud and (cross-bedded)sand and pebbles, and in swampy plains.

e least resistant, so layers are thicker, reddishmudstone/shales, which alternate with thinner, light col-ored, resistant sandstone.

Since the Morrison formation layers were depositedin freshwater lakes and rivers, the layers contain large num-ber of s.

Greyish-white layers of resistant mudstone that isbroken to ca. similar size rocks make collars in the perime-ter of hills or can make “cube pavement” if it is on toplayer. candy striped mudstones belong to this formation.

Petrified wood, dinosaur fossils, and uranium andvanadium minerals occur in the Salt Wash Member.

SSuummmmeerrvviillllee ffoorrmmaattiioonn Sediments of a seaside tidal flat ofthe late Jurrassic. e lowest, or most eroded areas of theregion can be found in the candor chasma region, whereSummerville formation is at the surface level. it is com-posed of smooth, reddish brown siltstone and mudstone.Summerville formation appears parallelly striped, consist-ing of thin distinctive layers of chocolate to bone coloredshale and siltsone it includes thin layers of gypsum whichsuggests dry climate when evaporites could form. it can befound at Goblin Valley (in Wild Horse Butte) and parallelto Hwy 24 on the way to Hanksville, and also in someparts of candor chasma.

Regular Shape of a Morrison Formation hill without substantial cappinglayer (Erica’s Hill). Fallen rocks can be found around, proving the exis-tence of their now-eroded layer.

Light Grey collars made of resistant mudstone on the Way to Muddy Creakon Copernicus Highway.

Wavy patterns in a hard, 15 cm wide layer in the valley of Snake River.

28

COLORSe hills and rocks of the area has a wide variety of

colors.color variations in the Brushy Basin rocks aid in

distinguishing some clay mineral differences in it. Varie-gated pastel shades of red, orange, purple, gray and in-termediate colors are more commonly found in normalmontmorillonite.

e most common color of the hills is reddish brown,from hematite (iron oxide, fe2o3), which is the same ma-terial that gives the red color of Mars. it refers to oxidizingconditions. iron content is from the parent rocks fromwhich the sediments were derived.

Yellowish ocre colored rocks are colored by limonite,a mixture of hydrated iron oxides (feo(oH)•nH2o).

Rocks that are light green or blue were deposited in areducing environment, cut off from oxygen.

Dark green rocks contains reduced ferrous iron, andwere deposited in anaerobic conditions: stagnant marinebasins, swamps, oxygen poor lakes. Some dark green boul-ders can be found near Becky’s Hills in area 42.

Grey rocks may be composed of volcanic ash (trans-formed to bentonite) that can be eroded easily. Bentoniteis composed mainly of mont-morillonite, a phyllosilicateclay mineral. (nB: phyllocian age of Mars (4,5-4 Ga ago) isnamed aer phyllosilicates).

CLAY MINERALS e Salt Wash sandstone member contains illite as themost common and abundant clay mineral in both themudstone and sandstone portions, although chloriteand mixed-layer illite-chlorite are also widely distributedin them. Except for the vol-canic-derived montmoril-lonite, most of the clay in the Salt Wash member is be-lieved to have a sedimentary-rock origin. e mudstoneson the semi-arid colorado Plateau provide striking ex-amples that montmorillonite weathers to a “frothy” sur-face, illite and chlo-rite go to smooth or “slicksurfaces“ (Kellner).

Some clays show crackings, others don’t. clarke dif-

ferentiates various regolith terrains (units) according to thepresence of crackings. cracking or swelling clays (smec-tites) are typically formed in arid to sub-arid environ-ments. non swelling clays form in deeply weatheredenvironments (kaolinite, halloysite) or as a result of marinediagenesis (illite). clay plains oen exhibit patchy efflores-cence of sulphate and halite, especially when the surfacedries out aer rain or in areas of groundwater seepage orsurface water (clarke).

Swelling can occur on vermiculites and kaolinites,but is particularly prominent on highly active expanding-lattice smectites, producing a loose, highly porous “pop-corn”, when less / shorter lenght precipitation occurs.Dispersion produces a compact, structureless, almost im-permeable crust (Kasanin-Grubin and Bryan, 2007).

clarke have made a detailed classification of macro-and microscale regolith (material and craching), landscape(morphologic) and surface crust (material) units of theMDRS area (clarke; clarke and Pain 2004).

Candy striped mudstones om ielges Flats.

Colors of a weathered mudstone hill near Baby Dragon

29

REGOLITHSoils are halomorphic because of the salt content

with accumulated caco3 layers. e regolith is cracking or non-cracking; popcorn-

shaped or cracked crust. e nature of the surface layer isdependent on weathering conditions: in some places(Sagan St) it changed in 2 years time. e same pattern ofchange was reported by Kasanin-Grubin and Bryan (2007)from alberta badlands. ey interpreted popcorn patternas a result of less precipitation. However, in other placesonly kms from our location the surface type (with crack-ings) remained the same (near “White Mushrooms”, Erica’sHill) aer the same 2 years (see next page).

Change in regolith cover type om smooth/popcorn tocracking (2006-2008) in E. Sagan Street. e samearea in 2006 (above) and 08 (below), on E SaganStreet. e pattern of cracks has been changed due tonew rainfall / desiccation.

Popcorn shaped weathered surface.

Cracked surface crust.

22000066 22000088

SOILPOLYGONAL PATTERNSPolygonal patterns can be made maily by several processes:involving ice (freeze-thaw cycle, ice wedges) and dry (arid)processes (desiccation) or because of sudden cooling ofmaterial. Here at MDRS desiccation is the main polygon-making process.

in few places soils show a polygonal patterned struc-ture. is is caused by the wet (for example from wintersnow melting) and later desiccated clays on the surface (asopposed to freeze-thaw cycle made ice wegde polygons inpermafrost areas). e chunks between the desiccationcracks can show concave, convex, flat or irregular profile.

Stable patterns on flat surface: om 2006 to 2008 there was no change inthe pattern of crackings (near Erica’s Hill) (Detail of photo pair in previ-ous page)

Erica’s Hill: older small and newer big cracks next to each other

Upper right: Polygonal patterned ground near White Top. Le: Polygo-nal patterned ground on Mars (E12-02319) Lower right: Patterned soilaer snow melting. e polygonal patterns to the upper right are higherthan ground level, while to the lower right those are lower (cracks).

Polygons of different microclimate zones in the Antarctic Dry Valleys, aMars-analog site (Marchant and Head). Right: ice-wedge polygons. soilsare seasonally moist and thus seasonal oscillation about 0 ?C (273 K) pro-duces a classic active layer. Le: sand-wedge polygons . Soils are too dry toproduce classic active-layer disturbance, even though summer soil tempera-tures rise above 0 ?C

31

Two generations or sizes of polygonal patterned cracks in one place

Upper two images and upper right: Desiccation polygons of hydratable clayin a rock-sheltered part of Lith Canyon

Lower image: Two generations of patterns near Factory Butte (Desiccationpolygons and secondary polygons)

32

BOULDER PAVEMENT (Poligonal cracks in bedrock)ese sufaces are made of the relatively flat top of an ero-sion-resistant (but disintegrating) layer, currently on thesurface. crack patterns of bedrock resembles the same pat-tern in Burns formation at Meridiani Planum, Mars (chanet al. 2008).

POLIGONAL PATTERNEDBEDROCK CRACKING

Rock pavement of more resistant, flat rock layers that are split by paralleland rectangular joints can be found in several places. Upper right: Husaron rectangular cracking rock pavement Upper le: Rock pavement on Mars(Opportunity, Eagle crater). Lower le: making a stone collar at ToothyRidge.

Opportunity’s view of Victoriacrater

Southwest om Factory Butte, North Caineville Mesa’s southern tip’s topshows polygonal cracking .

Polygonal weathering of white bedrock south of Erica’s Hill, the same layeras in Toothy Ridge

Toothy Ridge: ese are he result of weathering of white sandstone bedswith rectilinear joints. Weathering proceeds fastest at the corners, resultingin rounded forms. Being sandstone they are channel-fill units in theBrushy Basin member of the Morrison Formation. e white sandstonesand shales had Na-smectites, as opposed to Fe-smectites ion the red ones.(Jon Clarke, personal communication, 2008).

EROSION e surface is heavily eroded. Weathering, the freeze-thawcycle, mudflows from snow melting, and torrential rainstogether with flash floods shape the region. in the lowlying areas erosion is faster that the speed at which vegeta-tion can bound the upper soil layer. erefore vegetationcan be found in areas of accumulation, i.e. in low terrainsin river valleys or in high lying flat areas, where badland isnot yet present.

BADLANDBadlands are devoid of vegetation and oen having an ex-tremely rugged terrain. ey develop where so, highlyerodible, relatively impermeable rocks are exposed torapid fluvial erosion (which definition makes par excel-lence badlands absent on Mars). ey are customarily as-sociated with arid or semiarid environments, but they infact develop on a wide range of materials and climatesfrom the arctic to the tropics. one of their most character-istic features are rilles and gullies that dissect a barrenlandscape. Steep sided residuals rise above gentle slopingalluviated or pedimented surfaces. MMiiccrroorreelliieeff is complex:desiccation cracks, pipes, rills, etc. Erosion rates of 2mm/yr to 20 mm/yr have been reported. High rates oferosion and rapid runoff produce high sediment yields.(campbell 1989)

e MDRS badland may not be contemporary; infact, its rock’s desert var-nish may be several tensof thousands of yearsold. e bandland areaitself may be millions ofyears old. erefore thesemiarid environmentmay just conserve theold landscape, which isnow not actively form-ing despite its highlyerodible materials – only

Highland1460 m

Mesa1820 m

Badland1340 m

ree levels at the MDRS area

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KISSING CAMEL RANGE

RESERVOIR

Cope

rnicus H

ighw

ay

Cactu

s Roa

d

Lowell Highw

ay

Sagan Street

Unnam

ed H

ighw

ay

Sch

iapare

lli H

ighw

ay

Hubble Highway

Old

Cop

ernic

us

Hw

y

New Copernicus Hwy

Brahe Highway

Henry Street

Radio

Ri d

ge R

oad

Cactus R

oad NE

Chapman Way

Dea

d En

d Roa

d

Ptolemy H

ighway

Lith Canyon Road


Rad

io R

i dg

e Road N

Lith canyon foot

path

Cop

ernic

us H

ighw

ay

Lowell

Highw

ay

Lowell H

ighw

ay

Low

ell H

igh

way

Lowell Highway

Hubble Highw

ay

Hubble H

ighw

ay

§̈¦24

Ham Hillock

Rope Rescue

Blind Corner

Collapsed Road

Impassable Wash

HIPPO

PIMPLE

AREA 42

MIRRORS

ONO RIDGE

FLAG HILL

BOX CANYON

ARSIA MONS

LADY DUNES

MHS VALLEY

MINE FIELD

SPRING HILL

VALLES LUNA

LUNA MONTES

FOSSIL ROCK

BABY DRAGON

POINTY PEAK

COUGAR HILL

LITH CANYON

EDDIE'S HILL

SANDI'S HILL

PAVONIS MONS

OLYMPUS MONS

HARRIS HILLS

ERICA'S HILL

TOOTHY RIDGE

SHEEP KNOLLS

T-REX CANYON

TURTLE HILLS

FIRE HYDRANT

ROLF'S RIDGE

GREEN VALLEY

PHOBOS PHOOT

HEIDI'S HILL

PHOBOS FLANK

FAMILY CREST

MB'S MOUNTAIN

ASCRAEUS MONS

ESZTER'S HILL

BECKY'S RIDGE


POTHOLE FIELD

BOULDER FIELD

MOUNT SAGEWOOD

THIELGES FLATS

MAXWELL MONTES

SNOSHTI CANYON


BARBARA'S HILL

DAISY AND DUKE

STRIPED DRAGON

CAMEL TOE DRAW

FLAT ROCK PARK

MARLIS' MEADOW

CLARA'S CANYON

SERENITY VALLEY

UTOPIA PLANITIA

ANNE'S MOUNTAIN

MURPHY'S CANYON

MUDSTONE MOUNDS

HUBBLE PLANITIA

SHANNON'S RANGE

HILDEGARD HILLS

SLEEPING IGUANA

COLLAPSING WALL

SANJEROONI BUTTE

VALLES MARINERIS

HELIUM HIGHLANDS

HALF CLICK RIDGE

HALF PIPE CANYON

WINDCATCHER HILL

SALTY BLACK HILLS

SCHUBERT PLANITIA

SALTY BLACK HILLS

SALTY BEIGE HILLS

RED WALLED CANYON

SMALL VISTA BUTTE

WHITE ROCK CANYON

MID RIDGE PLANITIA

WHITE TOP MOUNTAIN

PATHFINDER OUTWASH

BOULDERDASH CANYON

STIPED DRAGON NORTH

NEAT LITTLE PLATEAU

MOUND TRICOLOR SOIL

HUBBLE CANYON 01 PAN




Anvil

Archie

Scylla

Orthanc

Cow Gate

Ant Ares

Overhang

Y Ravine

Salt Lick

47 Onions

Dune Pass

Gecko Bay

Tree Gate

Deer View

Charybdis

Wind Face

Brand Bend

Husar Pass

Beehive 24

Stonehenge

The Pillar

Clara Pass

Funny Face

Thayer Joch

Cattle Cove

Canton Cave

Robbi's Bed

Chluda Pass

COWgirl RISe

Thoar Tirala

Goose Glouch

Kabo's Kliff

Hundred Ants

Hutti's Dream

Judith's Cave

Byron's Ridge

Piece of Cake

Picknick Area

Clara's Cliff

Sunday Pointe

Zubrin's Head

Wash Dead End

Schubert Pass

Kap AustroMars

Repeater Point

Shortcut South

River Crossing

Dimitri Corner

Faux Dinosaurs

CommanDeR's LOG

Kap Austro Mars

AustroMars GateAustroMars Gate

Big Daddy Point

Telegraph Point

Andrea's Quarry

Brussels Sprout

Hubert's Heaven

Gargoyle Gallery

Blue Devils Pass

UFO Landing Site

Bin Laden's Cave

Blecken's Boulder

Balloon Launch Pad








Widow's Peak

Beehive Peak

Edilweiss Peak

Patricia's Peak

SKYLINE RIM

RADIO RIDGE

RADIO RANGE

CANDOR CHASMA

Tech T

Dead End

Route 66

Rest Stop

Onion Tea

Oyster Turn

New Route 66

Cactus Corner

Four Way Stop

Clara's Corner

Highway Turnoff

Jennifer Junction

Sagan Street Start

Laura's Turnaround

Cow Dung Road Exit


HAB

HabView

Zecie's Vista

Toast Lookout

Panorama Point

Andreas Buena Vista

Sun Rock

Spice Field

Oyster Field

Olivia's Rock

Fossil Shells

Oyster Shells

Ignious Field

Paul's Sandpit

Carina's Quarry

Glistening Seas

Mellow Mushrooms

Barsoom Outcrops

Huge Fossil Field Sedimentary Outcrop


C52S1 - Chert hypoliths



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0 740 1 480370 meterMap of the Mars Desert Research Station area 1:10 000NOTE: This map is NOT valid after April 2008. For up-to-date nomenclature and waypoint information, consult the MDRS website.

SkílineRim

factory Butte

Muddy creak

annual torrentian rains can produce a minimal erosionrate.

e same problem arises with Martian “young”, smallforms, like polygonal patterned grounds. How young arethey? are they active today or represent earlier climaticconditions?

is is also a good locality for visualization of Davis’erosional cyles: the highland being the young (transient);the badland the mature; and the plains at the base of thebadland the old stage (Davis 1909).

34

MESAS, BUTTESinselbergs, island mountains (buttes) are steep hills

standing in a sloping plain. ese are formed by differentialerosion, with an erosion resistant caprock layer.

Buttes have no plateau on its top while mesas are flattopped inselbergs; plateaus are continuous highland areas.ey are a narrow, flat-topped hills of resistant rock withvery steep sides. Probably formerly mesas.

Mesas are a large, broad, flat-topped hills bounded bycliffs and capped with a resistant rock layer.

e best recognizable landform of the region is fac-tory Butte, a steep cliff-bordered butte. Several characteris-tics of a butte talus slope can be observed at Skyline Rim.

Erosion landforms on Mars are similar to antarcticdry valleys and semidesert areas of the american South-West, areas where salt weathering is present. Troughs andmesas are formed with wind removal of the debris, andmesas and ridges are accumulating significant talus( Jagoutz 2006).

Badlands are classified in italy as biancane (small con-ical domes and calanchi (highly dissected bare/steepslopes) types (farieh and Soeters 2006). Here dissectedslopes occur, but landforms are not conical: hills are morerounded.

Right: Factory Butte showing straight cliffs and large, heavily eroded debris apron / talus slope / colluvial fan. Erosion here is made by fluvial processes. Le:A mesa on Mars with debris apron (2004.12.16.R2100326) without the sign of any fluvial process. Lower images: Factory Butte om above shows the difference between mesa and butte and theMartian and Terrestrial example (i.e. the presence of gullies).

Factory Butte as art. Photo by (c) William Cli (1985)

is is not Mars and Earth but the Antarctica and Utah, showing geologicsimilarities.(pictures om Clarke and om André and Hall 2005)

Factory Butte as art. Photo by (c) Adam Schallau (2006)

35

AEOLIANPROCESSES

WIND TAILS / WIND STREAKS(anchored dunes due to nativevegetation)

Wind tails/wind streaks: le: wind tails on a Mariner 9 image (1972,Terra Tyrrhena). Upper and lower right: One patch of grass can boundwindblown sand, forming a small mound on the ground with. It is alsoshowing the direction of the wind. Other sand particles of this side are re-moved om the surroundings. On the way to Candor Chasma.

Fluvial processes: Streaks in a dry riverbed (near T-Rex Canyon), made byfluvial processes. ese are negative forms around the pebbles and positivein the leeward side, like a negative version of nebkha dunes.

Spirit, Wind streaks on Mars

36

WIND ETCHINGin the foots of the rolling hills the regolith can be sev-

eral meters thick, giving a good analog to Mars, wherethick layers of regolith has been formed over millions ofyears.

e work of aeolian erosion is clearly visible in thoseareas where some scarce vegetation could withstand fluvialerosion. in these areas grass can bound sand forming windstreaks and small mounds of sand, centering some kind ofvegetation. aeolian erosion in other areas removes smallsized particles from the surface. in some places older, mmsized desert crust remains can be seen, while its surround-ing has been removed (wind etching).

Sandy areas are above the “badland level”, where sand-stone is producing sand. it may be less salty, which is betterfor vegetation.

Rovers wheel tracks shows the nature of the upper layer of the regolith. So-journer’s wheels le traces on the dust of Mars, showing the lack of desertcrust. Husar’s wheels le their tracks only in muddy, wet ground, aersnow melted. But during dry conditions the wheels remained clean (right)

Upper le: Wind etching removed hard, very thin, probably seasonal crustthat was deposited during rainy seasons. Lith Canyon floor. Lower: e ef-fect of wind etching can carve deep valleys into the so sand if the upperdesert crust is broken. Note the ripples.

Remains of a small sand crust

Wind etching (?) or dried fluvial deposits in a riverbed (near T-RexCanyon)

DESERT PAVEMENTDeflation-made pebble fields (Desert pavement) /

pavements of stone / gibber plains (AUS) / desert armourStony desert pavements stabilize the surface by fur-

nishing protection to underlying desert soils. e pebble’ssource is varied: it may be the direct disintegration of con-glomerates or can be deposited by flowing water. ey aremade of roughly similar size pebbles, the smallers removedby wind. Roundness pebbles originate from its paleoenvi-ronment: they are round in the the original conglomerate,so their shape is not a result of subsequent weathering.

Pebble cover N of Shannons Range

on higher levels pavements of stone are clearly madeof the disintegrated rocks (conglomerates), while on thelower levels fluvial activity may move or accumulate peb-bles. During flooding pebbles can be complete removedfrom the levels below water level while in the higherground (terraces) they are le unchanged, making islandsof desert pavement.

is resembles desert pavement of Regs/Serirs (peb-ble deserts)

Pebble field N of Lady Dunes, on a flat, plateau surface. Here roundedpebbles are clearly a remnant of weathered,, disintegrated capstone con-glomerates that could be found in a higher layer. (below)

Conglomerates NW of Eszter’s Hill has a different erosional product:small crumby pieces, may be because the cementing material is stronger orfluvial processes have removed smaller grains.

Formation of desertpavement

38

FLUVIAL PEBBLEFIELDS (ROCK-DEFENDED ALLUVIALTERRACES)

in several places pebble (gravel) fields are composed of wellsorted pebbles, with a sharp border. outside these fieldsthere is no pebble. Sometimes they are on a delta like struc-ture (alluvial fans). ese may represent a stage in erosionwhen fluvial erosion could not remove gravels larger than aparticular size and accumulated them, while next to it, itwas still strong enough to move all those particles; or viceversa, next to it, it was so weak that it could not transporteven particles that large to the area. later aeolian processes(the wind) removed all smaller particles, leaving only thelarger ones.

Wel sorted, sharp pebbles are always near accumulation terrains of vadis.Le: Pebble fields that is on the top of a delta shaped so sediment covershowing the possible connection to fluvial activity (T-Rex Canyon Goblinarea). Upper right:. Pebble field north of the hab, near Harris Hills. Herethe borderline is a winding wash. Lower right: Pebble field south of Col-lapsed Wall that ends in a sharp borderline. Lower center: cm scaled gob-lins at T-Rex Canyon, showing that these pebbles have witnessed strongflowing water here.

Pebble field on the higher levels (“island/terrace”), on lower levels pebblesof desert pavement were removed by the river (near Reservoir)

Islands of pebble fields in a lowland areas S of Erica’s Hill

Le: Sample om fine grained sand at the center of riverbed. Right: Sam-ple om sand at pebble field at higher level near riverbed

Right: Rocky slope near Erica’s Hill Le: Rocky slope of Spirit landing site.Probably made by physical weathering (insolation).

RIPPLES/ RIPPLEMARKS

ey can occur in the beds of rivers where the waterstream forms them. ey are “petrified” for the dry season.an other obvious method of ripple formation is wind-blown sand ripples. Ripples are formed by saltation of sand

grains.

39

SAND GRAINSe area has sand grains of aeolian and fluvial origin.

aeolian processes create angular pebbles (it can notmove them) and rounded sand grains (being saltated).

fluvial processes create rounded pebbles (rolled onthe riverbed) and angular sand grains (floating in thewater).

Upper and lower le: Pebble fields on Mars. Upper right: Pebbles in Char-lies Flats (Opportunity, Mars). Lower right: A similar, although biogenicsorting process is the building of anthills: ants build their hills om thosepebbles that they can move. is give a upper limit in size, while the windremoves all particles it can, giving a lower size limit. e result is a wellsorted hill, resembling shield volcanoes, composed of only pebbles.

Right: Aeolian ripple formation. Here there was not enough raw materialto form a continuous ripple field. is was formed in a small valley, nearPhobos Peak. Note the well sorted middle part of the ripples with larger,and the peripheral parts with smaller sand particles. Le: Dark Dunes inProctor Crater (M0702777), Mars.

Right: Sand-filled valley near Phobos Peak. Ripples can be observed in themiddle of the valley, where the wind is strongest. Le: Deeply carved val-leys with ripples on Mars (2004.09.25.R1901235)

Saltation of sand

40

VENTIFACTS (EDGY PEBBLES / FLANKYROCKS)

Edgy pebbles are usually found in desert areas where continuous wind ac-tivity chisel sharp edges to pebbles that are flipped to their other side thusobtaining an other edge. Here this rock to the right was found in a dryriverbed, which shows its different origin. e ones to the le are omToothy Ridge: these are eroded to rounded edges on the surface but theiresh joints are edgy when taken apart. Lunar half buried rocks are erodedto rounded shape by micrometeorite bombardment but they are still sharpunder the regolith. e borderline forms an edge.

Formation of ventifacts

Spirit /the flanky Mimi rock

Rocks Cake and Blanco (Spirit)Possible ventifact on Sagan Highway East

41

MASS MOVEMENTSLANDSLIDESCOLLAPSING CLIFFS

Some cliffs can collapse in landslides. landslides canbe observed in many scales. Uppermost: Skyline Rim. Upper: Landslides and cliff collapses near

Muddy Creak. Not the boot for scale. Lower le: Eos Chasma, Mars(Mars Express). Lower right: Ganges Chasma, Mars

n

42

WEATHERINGWeathering is also present on Mars, in mechanical

rather then chemical form which is proven by the presenceof olivine grains which would decompose if chemicalweathering would be present on Mars ( Jagoutz 2006). im-pact weathering plays a minor rule as observed by the ab-sence of impact breccia / glasses which is common on anylunar surface.

on Mars rocks are mostly angular. ose which arerounded has only one side rounded. is shows that rockson (present surface of ) Mars are not transported, norchemically weathered, but fragmented locally. Jagoutz(2006) proposes salt-induced fragmentation to explain the

these observations on Mars. Daily freeze-thaw cycle (of saltsolution) may be part of this process, as observed in theantarctic dry valleys. on Mars salt is carried by wind asdust, water is present in the form of ice. e resulting saltsolution probably enters the rocks as a liquid film whichmay be present for a limited time during summer daytimehours, depositing salts in the pore space of rocks; however,the fragmentation is caused later aer evaporation/subli-mation of water and crystallization of salt.

Rocks are weathered to small grains but the smallest ones are removed bywind. (Near Reservoir)

43

DIFFERENTIAL (SELECTIVE) EROSION

Balanced rocks: rocks that has alternating hard (sand-stone) and so (siltstone, shale) layers the hard layers pre-vents erosion of the underlying so layers which are erodedaway slowly.

e most prominent examples of the process of dif-ferential erosion is the Goblin Valley area where EntrandaSandstone forms various shaped rocks. ese here arecalled goblins, while in other areas (just as here formery)they are called mushrooms or, if their base is larger,pedestal rocks. if there is no top hard sandstone, but a highspire shaped structure is composed of so material, whichis eroded by near vertical joints, it is called hoodoo. How-ever, in the literature goblins, hoodoos, mushrooms andbalanced rocks are sometimes used interchangeably. ebase of these landforms are usally covered with a thin

veener of soil (colluvium). e strange shape of the uppersandstone layers can be explained with the geochemistry ofthe rocks. Minerals precipitated in the tiny spaces betweenindividual sand grains provide a degree of hardness to thesandstone bed. Variations in the amount and type of ce-ment may also contribute to the shape of goblins.

nB: Mushrooms in deserts are created by the differ-ent forces of the wind at different levels from the ground(near ground level it is stronger with more grains): herethis is not the case. ese also resemble earth pyramids,like in Bolzano, S. Tyrol where wind did not play a role inthe formation.

Lower right: Mushrooms/pedestal rocks near Phobos Peak. Here white,non-resistant material (volcanic ash?) is capped by sandstone. Lower le:Rounded grey pebble and reddish colluvium: mushroom in T-Rex Canyon518540/4251155/1377m. Upper le: Not real mushrooms, south of Col-lapsed Wall: probably different cementation of the same material preparesthese small mushrooms. Upper right: A more eroded mushroom.

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ALVEOLAR WEATHERING: TAFONI, ALVEOLI VS. TRACEFOSSILSin varous rocks and areas show cavernous weathering phe-nomena: rocks have small hollows, pits, cave-like featureswith rounded entrances, smooth concave walls, and lim-ited depths. ey usually occur in groups. ese forma-tions are called tafoni or alveoli (if smaller) or honeycombstructures. Tafoni occur in coastal areas (from salt sprayweathering) and salty deserts, and also in the antarcticpeninsula (andré and Hall, 2005). eir formation isprobably caused by salt weathering processes (here, on theseaside and also in the case of antarctic tafoni salt or gyp-sum is present): hydration of clay minerals with salinemoisture causing volume change or salt crystallizationpressures from growth of crystals from solution. When thissolution evaporates, salt crystals precipitate in pores spaces.e resulting crystalline solid precipitated between min-eral grains can exert stress and readily cause mineral break-down. Tafoni can be caused by heterogenious rockcomposition or grain size (differential erosion), or positivefeedback mechanisms caused by microclimatic differences.(Boxerman 2008)

Salt weathering is proposed to be one of the domi-nant ways of weathering on Mars (Malin 1974, Jagoutz2006), but only in the form of disintegrating rocks intofragments and later sand. formation of tafonies, com-monly observed in salt erosional areas on Earth, seems tobe absent on Mars.. However, the tafonies might only beformed if the surface of the rocks are cleaned from salt byrainwater. en the salt erosion is only progressing rain-protected hollows producing this typical cavernous erosioncalled tafonies ( Jagoutz 2006).

Alveolized boulders. Upper le: Same as above, but with a different stone:siltstone. Lower right: Strange erosional holes and shapes in a siltstonenorth om the hab. Lower le: Pits in a siltstone near Lowell Highway(with Husar rover) Central right: Close-up of one of the strangely erodedrocks in Morgan and Lili’s Playground Upper right: Tafoni in a rock sam-ple.

Le: Close-up of a rock named Esperanza (Spirit; Home Plate), which isthought to be a vesicular basaltic rock. e holes were created by cavities ofgas in molten lava, giving them a distinctive, sponge-like appearance.Later erosion made the holes larger. e overall appereance resemles tafoni(to the right).

45

Cavities interpreted as trace fossils made by ants (Hasiotis 2004)

interpretation of such unusual cavities is not easy.Hasiotos (2004) interprets such “interconnected oblate tohemispherical chambers and galleries” as ant nests (ichno-fossils: trace fossils) in the sand- and mudstones of Morri-son formation. ese fossils would predate the firstknown fossil ants in amber by 50 million years. e ques-tion is: are these cavities tafonis or at least initiated bytrace fossils? Vesicular basalts on Mars, alveoli on Earthand ant nest trace fossils are morphologycally more or lessalike.

Tafoni in red sandstone (Near Reservoir)

Lonely tafonis near Striped Dragon

Pitted rock at 0518634 4248742(3D anagliph image)

Knobbed and pitted surface of candy-colored mudstone layer in Morganand Lili’s Playground.

Vesicular basalt om afar, Home Plate, Spirit: same morphology, differentformation

Le: Trace fossils, contemporary phenomena or abiogenic patterns? InLith Canyon, in the cliffs above Hidden Mud Chips.

Right, up: Modern communal nests excavated in i-able channel sandstone by bees belonging to the An-

drenidae and represent hard ground borers;constructed sometime in the Holocene. ese can be

mistaken easily for trace fossils constructed in theUpper Jurassic sediments. (Hasiotis 2004)

Right, down: Cocoons and nests interpreted as vari-ous types of (Jurassic) wasp nests used for reproduc-

tion (Hasiotis 2004)

47

LAYERED ROCKSlayered rocks are composed of cemented sediments of an-cient dunes or riverbeds.

Lower le: Layered structures are not necessarily made only by erosion:here, near Candor Chasma. Lower right: Parallelly splitting, stones nearBig Daddy Point. Upper right: Fluvial erosion near Candor Chasma re-veals fine layering. Upper le: Layered outcrop of a rock on Mars (Oppor-tunity). e lamellae suggest dune sandstone origin, with slopingcrossbedding and tiny grains. e layers are emphasized by erosion.

Up: False color image of layered rocks (Nancy Warren, Home Plate, Mars)(Elizabeth Mahon) Le, B&W: Spirit photo of another layered rock atHome Plate

Near Erica’s Hill

Near Erica’s HillNear Shannon’s Range

48

PHYSICAL WEATHERINGe resulting forms of physical weathering may be very dif-ferent, regardless of the similarity of proesses. e reason isthe inner structure of the rock being weathered. Disinte-gration is granular in coarse grained rocks that disinte-grates into its composing mineral grains, laminar in layeredrocks and also in sandstone and conglomerate.

ROUND ROCKS Interpreted as anhydrite nodules (Clarke, le) explaining the salt precipi-tation phenomena around. (“”White Mushroom Field”) Gypsum con-verted into anhydrite by dehidration produce oen nodular orchicken-wire structure.

ANGULAR/LAMINAR WEATHERING

BLOCKY WEATHERING /DISINTEGRATION

in layer falling to angular pieces near Eszter’s Hill. Round white rocksare next to and probably under it so it can be interpreted as its caprock.

Splintered, angular brick-like pieces of darkrocks, om a thiker layer, near Erica’s Hill.

LOCAL ROCK GRADENSin some places rocks from erosion resistant layers disinte-grate on the ground. Rocks fall apart (due to physical ero-sion processes), while grains of sand are removed by thewind, thus leaving only larger boulders, as in hammada(rock desert) areas but not consisting a continuous layer ofrocks: in the “rock garden” areas (in the local MDRSnomenclature: “Playgrounds”) soil is clearly visible be-tween the pieces of rocks. in areas of disintergating con-glomerate, gravel can make a continuous layer thuspreventing erosion of the underlyingmaterials (see desert pavement).(near lady Dunes or the Play-grounds north from the Hab). Dif-ferent layers (with differentcomposition) as sources produce dif-ferent ways of erosion.

EXFOLATIONOnion-skin weathering /thermal expansion / exfolation /desquamation / insolation weathering)

Spheroidal (exfolation) in hard, homogenious, or finegrained heterogenious rocks. e result of exfolation is amore and more rounded / oval “core” rock. Mainy con-nected to insolation, since “onion skins” are produced bythe tension made by the difference between the warmedexterior and the cold interior of the rocks.

aannaallyyssiiss ooff tthheerrmmaall ddiiffffeerreenncceess::Temperature of white rocks were

20 c directly facing the sun16,6 c in the sun9,5-13 c in shadow

candy colored rocks:25 c in white area23 c in dark red area

ermal diffrences are also present on the regolithsurface: ese data were taken roughly at the same time

35 c -36,4 c Stream bed center, polygonal 31,6 c Stream bed sand 30,3 Salt efflorence, bright35,5 c Gravel26,5 c Polygons, salty

e surface of regolith can be warmed to high tem-peratures while the air and deeper soil is cooler (2008 apr17).

Dark red regolith surface in sun: 52,7c (16:10h),about 20 cm depth: 18 c; very bright salty surface: 19,1 c(17:10h)

Onion-skin weathering on a angular - therefore young - piece of rock

Onion-skin weathering is clear on the lower right side of this broken mud-stone „egg” near Striped Dragon. Sinc it is rounded, it is exfolated for alonger time

51

POTHOLES ere are large holes in East Sagan Street where water ispossibly flowing in an underground cave or creek. in otherareas small holes are carved into individual boulders (forexample in Morgan and lili’s Playground). is probablyreflects longer erosion of mudstones or siltstones.

Potholes are also called pipes (clarke). Piping is agroundwater phenomenon characteristic of cracking clays.infiltrating water is channeled along the cracks, the con-centrated subterranean flow eroding vertical and horizon-tal pipes which discharge lower down the slope (clarke).

Desiccation crakcs and weakness planes can allowdeepo and rapid moisture penetration, oen causing pipeor tunnel erosion. (campbell 1989).

Pothole in E Sagan St.

Collapse pits (small pipes) near Phobos Peak

Large collapse pits on Mars(2005.07.27.S0600667)probably formed on a vol-canic tunnel.

52

STREAMS, VALLEYS,RIVERBEDS, VADISin the region various sizes of washes, streams, gulles can beobserved (mm to km scale). We can find whole few metersized catchment areas on the slopes of badland hills. Sincethe surface is so and erodes easily, rivers move large quan-tities of particles.

Source of flowing water is only rainfall, not ground-water: valleys of streams only periodically carry water.

a typical form of desert valley is called arroyo: drydesert gully, usually a small, narrow canyon with steepwalls and a flat, gravel strewn floor.

Upper le: Complete Drainage System on one individual hill with deep Vshaped valleys. Lower right: erosional Channel system on Mars (Viking)Lower center: Apollinaris Patera, Mars: depositing Drainage SystemUpper right: V shaped small valleys sometimes are dotted with cm sizedwell sorted sharp gravels. Pebbles or boulders eventually will move to val-leys, originating om any place on the hilltops. Lower right: V shaped valley of larger size in Toothy Ridge showing strongfluvial erosion

Upper right: Flat valley (channel) carved into an alluvial valley. Note thedeep, cm scale scarps of the wash. Upper le: A System of cm scale Valleysnear the hab. Although now dry, aer a rainfall or snow melting they arefilled up by particle-filled small creeks. Lower image: Valley on Mars. Ithas no flat valley floor as on the other valleys shown here.

Energy from stream flow and channel shapes are in-terconnected. in V shaped or deeply carved valleys erosiontakes place. Here gravity and friction of sediment with thebed are the main valley shaping force. in winding streamsflowing water transport particles. in delta areas sedimenta-tion is the main process. all three stages of erosion /trans-portation /sedimentation can be observed in all sizes inthe region. in winding (meandering) rivers the differentshapes of the concave and convex shorelines (sedimenta-tion in one side, heavy erosion in the other) can be ob-served.

Winding meanders of Snake River as photographed om Widow’s Peak.

53

Winding river valley in small scale: note the two different sides of the val-ley. On one side erosion, on the other sedimentation occurs (Near DamReservoir).

Rivers in weathered mud (clay) layer, near Reservoir: meanders and deltathat usually can be found in craters on Mars

Eberswalde Crater delta on Mars

Fine grained, dried deposited sediment om a previous wet period’s streamleaving its ripple marks and flow marks solidified. is dry layer can easilybe removed.

ppoooollppooiinntt bbaarrddeeppoossiittss

rriifflffleelleevvééee

ccuutt bbaannkk

rriiddggee aanndd sswwaallee ssttrruuccttuurree

lleevvééee

flflooooddppllaaiinn

ddeellttaa

Dry sediments of a valley showing patterns made by flowing water

New riverbeds in sany deposit near Erica’s Hill. Note the fine grains of theriverbed sediment.

Riverbed deposit, dried (way to Toothy Ridge). Linguloid Ripples indicateshallow, rapid flow within the ripple stability field.

Path of stream near Phobos Peak

55

GULLIES

CANYONSone of the most visible results of fluvial erosion is the for-mation of deep canyons. ere are two major canyon areasin the region: lith canyon and candor chasma. eseare deepened by the torrential summer rains and as a con-sequence, flash floods. e force of flowing water canmove large sized boulders, although during the dry seasonswind removes all other materials from the canyon floors.

Le: Skyline Rim’s talus apron has gullies. Some debris flow can also makesuch channels, but those are U shaped. Right: Gullies on Mars with apronsat their foots. (0302290 MGS)

Scarcely vegetated canyon with fluvial sediments.

Large boulders in the eastern entrance of Lith Canyon.

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MASS MOVEMENTSSOIL MOVEMENTS?at one place, bright lobes are present on the hillslopes.is same region is also special for its “polka-dotted rocks”not found anywhere else. e lobes may be some forms ofsolifluction or an other fluvial activity related process.note that this is the site of potholes and pipes – subsurfacewater drainage may enter the surface in this layer, or thismay be a thin layer of an different material in the strata se-ries of the hill.

22000066 22000088

A terrace like part of one of the red smooth surfaced hills north om the hab, near Sagan Street East (2006). ere was no change in the path of gulliesaer 2 years, but the texture of the area has been changed.

Detail of a solifluction lobe-like feature

SLOPE PROCESSES

e area is abundant with vegetation-free slopes where var-ious slope processes take place. Here evidences to massmovements, splash erosion, fluvial erosion, and muddycreeping can be observed. Slope processes are very differentat high cliffs (Skyline Rim) and rounded badland hills(area 42). Since thaw-melting erosion is fast, not land-slides, but debris aprons, erosional valleys or muddy creep-ing caused by winter snow melting are the main surfaceforming factors. Where a caprock layer is present, slopesare dotted with large boulders fallen down from the top ofthe hills.

large areas are pediments: gently sloping erosionalsurfaces, exposing bedrock or covered with a veneer of allu-vium that can be transported off the pediment surface withthe next significant flood event.

Various shaped slopes depending on actual layering of the hills. Upperright: straight slope showing very fast erosion (all debris is trans-portedaway). Upper le: hard rock capped so rock. Lower le: butte. Lower cen-ter: two hard layers at Barsoom Outcrops. Red mudstone and clays cappedby sandstone. Lower right: the same outcrops, topped by a so red and ahard white layer (as peak).

Slopes of Skyline Rim are shaped by several processes. Rock boulders arefalling off om an open gullet, while in one slope fluvial erosion is carvingvalleys into the debris apron. On the other slope, however, mass movementis the main process (with white salt patches). A larger landslide can be ob-served to the le, covering the valley-carved slope, indicating that the land-slide occurred aer the last precipitation-rich period.

Unusual concave forms of slopes North om Sagan Street East

In steep slopes dry sand behaves as fluid.Small moving sand flows could be observed

near the entrance to Lith Canyon.

58

CLIFF RIDGES

ROCK FALLS

Jagged rim of Victoria Crater and onepromontory near Widow’s Peak

Victoria Crater (Opportunity)

Right: Slopes on Mars (Candor Chasma). Lower center: Slope processes:slow mass movements and fast rock falls (note the small figure in middlefor scale). Near Toothy Ridge. Upper le: Phobos Peaks’ conglomeraterocks.

Toothy Ridge: large boulders, near the hab: small pebbles, in collected inerosional valleys

EROSION CYLCLEEroding hilltops: Smooth layers and hard layers. Upper le: Collars of AToothy Ridge. Hard layer is still inside. Upper right: last minutes of theso layer. Lower le: hard layer on surface, eroding in parallel joints, mak-ing a cube-pavement like pattern. If the more resistant grey mudstone layeris happened to be at to top of a mountain, it forms a special cube pavementstructure. e parallel lines are probably pre-formed by joints. Erosioncarves them deeper rapidly. (Toothy Ridge). Lower right: hard layer dis-appearing, slowly falling apart.

1 2

3 4a

4b

Cracking bedrock and individualboulders near Erica’s Hill

CONCRETIONS Blueberries (on Mars). in some of the region (in pathwayto the observatory) small spheres of rock - concretions -can be found. ey are part of the Dakota Sandstone for-mation and composed of rounded, sorted quartz grains(Buttler et al. 2002). its bearing layers are cross-bedded.ey were created by significant volumes of groundwaterflowed through permeable rock. chemical reactions trig-gered minerals (calcite) to precipitate and start formingconcretions, layered, spherical balls. (in utah at Grand Es-calante Staircase nat. Park are large, and are known as“Moki Marbles” - 1 uSD each.) an other way is a biogenicorigin: here the nucleus is a dead organism. Here the car-bonate is of biogenic origin (Buttler et al. 2002) Since theyare very erosion resistant, while the layers that includedthem disappear, they still are on the ground, in a accumu-lating number. However, near the hab, next to the path tothe observatory, small sandstone blueberries were observedand collected which resemble the Martian ones moreclosely.

Blueberries on Mars are cemented/covered byhematite and found in cross-bedded layers produced eitherby fluvial or aeolian processes.

Lower le: Blueberries near the Hab. Upper right: One Blueberry in placeon Mars, in parallelly laminated varv layers (sulfates?). e Martianspherules are made of hematite. Lower right: Collected concretions – guessom where…

One concretion sphere om nearby

Bedrock of concretions, between the hab and the observatory

61

SULFATES, SALTSin, white coating on the surface is a recent salt precipita-tion (“salt efflorences”) and is common in Salty Black Hillsand Salty Beige Hills. ese show the possible locations(but not exclusively) of gypsum (caSo4•H2o) occur-rences. Salt is evaporated from groundwater, aer rainy pe-riods.

Gypsum crystals on the Glistening Seas region formselenite, the transparent form of gypsum. are they formingnow or are they being colleted on the surface from olderlayers? ese salts form crystal fields (at Glistening Seas) –selenites are especially clear crystals. at other locationssalts form white patches on hillslopes.

Gypsum crystals like this gave the name to Glistening Seas in the intersec-tion of Brahe and Lowell Highways.

Gypsum crystals at Glistening Seas. Le: Romboid shaped crystals, upperrigh: radially growing crystals, lower right: parallelly lamel-lated crystals.

Fragments of Gypsum in the weathered regolith c. 10 cm under the surfacein a hilltop near Lowell Hwy, Nutella Mtn.

A sample om the Glistening Seas, 200x magn.

Gypsum crystals looking like adesert rose - but in a different

form.

62

Paleo gypsum layers in one of the deep canyon walls.

Lower le: Spirit (Mars), Husband Hill (sulfates), upper le: salt precipi-tation at Mid Planita, right: Skyline Rim debris apron / talus slopes cov-ered by efflorescing salts

Up: „Gertrude Weise”, a patch of soil rich in sulfates with noncrystallinequartz (silica). It was formed in wet environment. (Spirit) Down: Spiritphoto of Salts in soil

Soil layers under the weathered surface to roughly 30 cm: an upper saltylayer and greenish colour lenses of a modified material (in anoxic condi-tions). e uppermost part of the soil is the few cm thick weathered surface(espevially in slopes); there is a fine grained sediment under this cover anda very hard surface at about 20-30 cm.

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DESERT VARNISH Desert varnish (=rock patina / desert patina / desert lac-quer) is a thin hard crust on the surface of rocks, pebblesand, sometimes, ground. Desert varnish may also be calledcryptobiotic crust or biological soil crust.

it is a coating (patina) of manganese, iron and clayson the surface of sun-baked boulders (named so aer thedark surface coating of rocks).

its thickness varies according to the ruggedness of thesurface, its exposure to the sun, and to wind abrasion. itscolor is usually black or dark red, according to its man-ganese and iron content, which is coming from wind-en-trained dust.

Desert varnish is formed by colonies of microscopicbacteria living on the rock surface for thousands of years.Manganese is attached to the rock by lichens and bacteria.ey grow on particles of clay and aquire energy from theoxi-dation of manganese during the short humid periodswhen they become active.

e bacteria absorb trace amounts of manganese andiron from the atmosphere and precipitate it as a black layerof manganese oxide or reddish iron oxide on the rock sur-faces.

Manganese is absorbed into the clay minerals staysput and is retained among the internal spaces of crys-talline mesh. So this thin layer also includes cemented clayparticles which help to shield the bacteria against desicca-tion, ex-treme heat and intense solar radiation.Varnish thusprotects bacteria from the dry conditions of the desert sur-face. Desert varnish is dated 30,000 years old on rocks inutah deserts (Stoppato and Bini 2003). using cosmogenic3He exposure age dating, desert pavement in the capitolReef area is estimated 100-150 000 years old.

although lichens can also withstand extreme envi-ronmental conditions, they generally cannot survive as wellon the dry, sun-baked boulders where desert varnish mi-crobes flourish. Rock lichens come in a variety of brightcolors, from red, orange and yellow to brilliant shades ofgreen. (desertusa 2008)

DURICRUSTDesert crust (duricrust) is a hard layer resistant to erosion,on the surface, made of the debris cemented by minerals ofthe soil or the minerals themselves. landis et al. (2004)suggested that the ‘‘duricrust’’ observed on Mars. e‘‘duricrust’’ exposed in the track of the Spirit rover couldbe a salt-cemented soil. Small rocks are commonly seenpressed through the duricrust by the rover wheel, (landiset al., 2004) which implies that the subsurface ground iseasily compressible. is behaviour may again be explainedas a result of salt activity producing pore spaces under theduricrust. a similar feature is observed in terrestrial areaswere salt activity produces duricrust ( Jagoutz 2006).

Rock platina sample, 200x magn.

VEGETATIONTrue badland areas are free of vegetation. limiting factorsare little water and high salinity.

Where found, vegetation is dominated by salt desertshrub grazed by livestock in the area ( Jacob 2005). cactiare common in the sandy areas. Where soil can form,scarce vegetation is present. continuous vegetation cover isnot present because of the small amount of water availablefor the plants: they need a large area for their roots to col-lect water. in T-Rex canyon (and other places) patches ofgrass are also cores of small sand dunes (wind tails). Soil isremoved in between.

near the hab EEvveenniinngg pprriimmrroossee (oenothera) is pres-ent blooming in april. ese flowers are always in an ele-vated ground probably “islands” of undisturbed soilformation, while in lower grounds flash floods remove soil.

Evening primroses are herbaceous plants that inhabitsandy or gravelly hillsides. eir flowers are white or yel-low, with four petals and four sepals. Most of them bloomat night (while relative humidity is higher – 10-20% vsdaytime 5-10%) and are pollinated by moths. ey gener-ally fade the next morning. When they open, the flowersare snowy white, but they turn pink with age and fadewhen the morning sun strikes them. Within utah, White-stemmed evening primrose (o. albicaulis) occurs only inthe southeastern region and is distinguished by dimorphicleaves; leaves in the basal rosette are more or less shallowlylobed, whereas the stem leaves are deeply cle. Pale eveningprimrose occurs throughout the state, has a stem with peel-

ing epidermis, and leaves that are generally similar regard-less of their position on the plant (andersen 1996).

DDeesseerrtt ttrruummppeett (E. inflatum) is so named for its in-teresting waxy, bluish-green inflated stems. it bloomes islate spring (andersen 1996).

Winds carry ttuummbblleewweeeedd in the area and accumulatethem in the foot of the luv side of cliffs (Esp. in the north-ern side of Hwy 24).

a tumbleweed is a shrub of the genus Salsola. eplant has between 100 and 130 species native to areas ofEurope, africa, and asia. Tumbleweeds colonize new areasby breaking from their roots in the fall and scattering seedas they are blown about by the wind.

Salsola tragus and other tumbleweed species were un-

Cacti are abundant in higher lying sandy areas ( for example near CactusRoad).

Evening primose near the hab

Desert trumpet near Sagan Street’s East

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intentionally brought to america in the 19th century byukrainian farmers. e tumbleweed became ubiquitous inthe american West and consequently became associatedwith that area in the public consciousness. in Westernsongs and later in film, the tumbleweed emerged as a sym-bol of boredom, desolation, emptiness, and aimless wan-dering.

Tumbleweed is a very hardy plant, as it is resistant tosalt and drought and is able to spread its seed over vastareas. e plant is able to procreate so well through thismethod that its seeds have not developed the protectivecoating or food stores seen in most other plants. in addi-tion, the tumbleweed's taproot, which remains behindwhen the shrub breaks off to tumble through the land-scape, is nearly impossible to destroy and grows a newplant every year.

Tumbleweed is considered an invasive species. it haslittle if any practical uses. ough the united States De-partment of agricul-ture deliberately introduced tumble-weed into some areas of the united States around the turnof the 20th century, in the hope that it could feed cattle intimes of drought, it now classifies the plant as a noxiousweed.

ANIMAL LIFEanthills of harvester ants are part of the landscape.

lizards and jackrabbits can be observed along with othermammals

Tumbleweed found aer windy days in T-Rex Canyon

Evening primose near the hab

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BIOGENIC PATTERNS ON ROCKS

Biogenic patterns were observed on some of the rockscaused by lichens. e color of the lichens vary from blueto green to pink.

Pink lichens near Phobos Peak

Blue Lichens near the entrance of Lith Canyon

Lichen sample, 40x magn.Orange colored microbal life (?) om 20 cm under the surface, om thebroMken bedrock, under the weathered dry mud cover

Le: lychens on the bottom ofa pedestal rock near PhobosPeak

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DDootttteedd rroocckkss.. it is still and opern question whetherothe dots in/on "polka dotted rock" are of biological ori-gin or not.

e most ambiguous results came from the microbi-oloogical analysis of these “polka-dotted rocks” that couldbe find only on the start of Sagan Road (near the pot-holes). e first results were negative, but aer 3-6 days ofincubating, positive results came: strangely, not only red orspots appeared as was usual on the TVc agar, but spots ofthree colors: yellow, pale red and neutral ones.

e samples were observed through microscope: itseems as if something would “eat” the rocks on the dottedparts which are surficial but sometimes have some depthinto the rock.

Two polka-dotted surface, whener biogenic origin is a question. Polka-dot-ted rocks (up), dark dune spots on Mars (down)

Aer 6 days of incubating,dotted rock sample shows yel-low, pale red and neutral col-

ored spots (TVC agar)

Polka-dotted rock under microscope (10x)

Polka dotted rocks in situ: orange colored rocks show the presence of possiblemicrobes. ese cliffs are nearby potholes and possible solifluction features.

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CHANGE DETECTIONGeomorphic change in present time is very slow in thedeserts of the South-West united States, as shown by thecontinued visibility of tracks le by tanks in World War iitraining grounds in the Sonoran Desert and 100 years ear-lier by wagon wheels along the Spanish trail crossing theMojave Desert (Hunt and Wu 2004).

changes are even slower on Mars. Martian landscapeis characterized by large well rounded boulders and angu-lar rock fragments. larger commonly well rounded boul-ders were emplaced onto gravel plains. aer emplacement,these rocks were fragmented and disassembled. nests ofangular rock fragments are marking the locations of preex-isting larger rocks ( Jagoutz 2006). ere, in the absence ofrecent chemical wea-thering, mass movements, insolationweathering, aeolian processes and salt weathering are theprocesses shaping the landscape.

at the MDRS area, very little change has occuredduring the 2 years between 2006 and 2008 despite of in-tense flooding on late 2006. e maximum change wasthat some rocks are have been flipped or fallen down. Butthe overall appearance of the landscape is unchanged.Since some desert varnish in the area has been dated30,000 years old it is possible that more considerablechanges occur on a thousand-year scale. e badland areaitself is several million years old.

in some places even patterns of shrinkage cracks havenot been changed during the 2 years. Some salt pre-cipita-tion patterns on the ground was also unchanged. falling /moving rocks have been observed on the Toothy Ridgehilltops.

WWee wwoouulldd lliikkee tthhiiss eexxppeerriimmeenntt ttoo ccoonnttiinnuuee wwiitthh tthheessaammee oobbjjeeccttss,, tthheerrffoorree wwee nnaammeedd tthheemm aanndd hhooppee tthhaatt iinnffeeww yyeeaarr’’ss ttiimmee iitt ccaann bbee rreeppeeaatteedd ((ttaakkiinngg ppiiccttuurree ooff tthheessaammee ssiitteess ffrroomm tthhee ssaammee vviieewwppooiinntt))..

JASON’S ROCK516863/4256180/1369m

(top of the hill, Toothy Ridge) a small rock which used tobe its partial support has been re-moved

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GIANT’S TOES516863/4256180/1368m

one piece of rock was broken; the weathering eroded a lit-tle more soil from the toes (on the foot of Jason’s Rock)

CRACKING TABLE in lith canyon, towards T-Rex canyon: no apparentchange

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TOOTHY RIDGE HILLTOP516853/4256222 /1360m

Some rocks have been fallen/flipped

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WHITE MUSHROOM FIELD 0518642/4250939/1374mShrinkage cracks, and even pattern of surface salt precipita-tion had no apparent change: it did not disappear, norchanged its extent in 2 years. Similar shape features are in-

terpreted as anhydrite nodules (clarke) explaining the saltprecipitation phenomena around.

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CHANGE DETECTION– THE AREAL VIEWusing satellite and airborn imagery it is possible to get anoverview of the whole area to look for changes. images areavailable in high (1 m) resolution as black and white or-thoquad photomaps (uSGS Skyline Rime quadrangle).e B&W film images were taken in 1993. 09. 03. forcompari-son we have used recent color satellite or airbornimages available in the (c) Google Earth data-base, takenaer 2002.

in general, there is has been no change in the perod of>10 years between the 2 images were taken. changes hasbeen observed in the following places:

MDRS HAB SITE

518224/4250718

there was no change except for the appearance of theHabitate building.

WHITE DEPOSIT 517270/4252430East of Schiaparelli Hwy salt or white deposit at

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DARK DEPOSITS have disappeared since 1993 in this image. lowell Hwy(Ham Hillock) is in the cen-ter of the image(518815/4252641).

NECK CUTOFFMuddy creak as the only permanent river in the areachanged its path probably aer a flooding. is imageshows the creek next to the Dead End of lowell Hwy(520906/4257135). a branch (channel) flowing to thenorth has been widened considerably. e new channel iscovered with bright deposit. e river have cut this mean-der, creating a new oxbow-lake.

nneeww ooxxbbooww llaakkee

nneeww lleevvééee

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MEANDER BEND GROWTH

an other bend of Muddy creak (518433/4257276) whichchanged its path: it is more mature now that 10 years be-fore.

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NOMENCLATURElandforms, as in Earth must have place names. is makesastronaut conversations, geologic descriptions etc. mucheasier, faster and more precise. at MDRS previous crewsnamed several surface features. crew 1 named 27 surfacefeatures, crew 5 named 31 features, crew 37 named 66 fea-tures, while our crew named 43 features, totaling 168named features in the area. e other crews did not extendthe nomenclature. We have established a nomenclaturedatabase (an excel file) which lists the names, coordinates,origin of names and other data of the surface features. enaming is in most cases follow similar rules to that used byapollo astronauts in the close vicinity of the landing sites.names are chosen aer the shape of features (for exampleanimals), if something happened there, or for a crewmem-ber, or crewmembers relatives (wife, children, parents etc.).

We have created a map that displays all named fea-tures, main roads and some additional comments related toa specific geographic area, using the orthophotomaps ofuSGS.

We have developed a polar coordinate system center-ing the hab. e longitudes are in hours (0-24, 0 beingnorth), the latitudes are in km. is would give a very easyto use coordinate system, but only if we do not move thehab. if a Martian expedition would use a pressurized roveras hab, this coordinate system would not be appropriate.Since our GPSs can not use this system, we used uTMnaD 27 in all maps.

We have found that - features of interest has to be named, since this way

they are more easily found, remembered, verbalizede best type of names are meaningful. ey - use color, shape, resemblance (Striped Dragon) - use personal names related to the crewmembers (Es-

zter’s Hill)- are descriptive ones that tell why the point is impor-

tant (fossil field)(Hargitai et al. 2007)

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REFERENCESandersen B. a. 1996: Desert plants of utah. Utah State

University. andré, Marie-fracoise and Hall, Kevin 2005: Honeycomb

development on alexander island, glacial history ofGeorge Vi Sound and palaeoclimatic implications(Two Step cliffs/Mars oasis, Wantarctica). Geomor-phology 65 (2005) 117– 138

Baker, V.R., 2001. Water and the martian landscape. Na-ture 412, 228–236.

Barnes f.a. canyon country Geology Boxerman, John 2008: http://www.tafoni.com/Salt-

Weathering.htmlButtler M., J.clarke, and M. coniglio 2002 Possible ana-

log Sedmentary and Diagenetic features for Meridi-ani Planum Sediments near Hanksville, utah:implications for Martian field Studies"

campbell i. a. (1989) Badlands and badland gullies in: D.S. G. omas (ed) Arid Zone Geomorphology. reprintby international Book Distributors, india, 1992.

clarke J. (?) e regolith geology of the MDRS Study area(manuscript)

clarke, Jonathan D. a. and Pain, colin f. 2004: fromutah to Mars: Regolith-landform mapping and itsapplications. in: Martian Expedition Planning, ed.ch. cockell, Science and Technology Series, Vol 107,american astronautical Society

Draut, amy E. 2005: e geology of central and southeast-ern utah: itinerary for a one-day field trip GeologicalSociety of America Penrose conference field TripGuide

ESD oRnl 1998. Global and local vegetation classifica-tion scheme. – Environmental Science Division, oakRidge national laboratory, oak Ridge, Tn. 5 p.http://www.esd.ornl.gov/projects/qen/scheme1.html 2005.10.27.

Hargitai, Henrik i., Hugh S. Gregory, Jan osburg andDennis Hands: Development of a local ToponymSystem at the Mars Desert Research Station Carto-graphica vol. 42, no. 2 / Summer 2007

Hasiotis, Stephen T. 2004 Reconnaissance of upper Juras-

sic Morrison formation ichnofossils, Rocky Moun-tain Region, uSa: paleoenvironmental, stratigraphic,and paleoclimatic significance of terrestrial and fresh-water ichnocoenoses Sedimentary Geology 167(2004) 177–268

http://www.desertusa.com/magdec97/varnish/dec_var-nish.html

http://www.marssociety.org/mdrs/fs07/0119/summary-sci.asp and references herein

http://www.nps.gov/archive/care/geology1.htmHunt, allen G. and Joan Q. Wu 2004: climatic influences

on Holocene variations in soil erosion rates on a smallhill in the Mojave Desert Geomorphology 58 (2004)263–289

Jablonsky, alice: Desert life. Western National Parks Assoc.1994.

Jagoutz, Emil 2006: Salt-induced rock fragmentation onMars: e role of salt in the weathering of Martianrocks. Advances in Space Research 38 (2006) 696–700

Jamshid, farieh, Rob Soeters 2007: origin of biancaneand calanchi in East aliano, southern italy. Geomor-phology 77 (2006) 142–152

Kasanin-Grubin, Milica, Rorke Bryan 2007: lithologicalproperties and weathering response on badland hill-slopes. Catena 70 (2007) 68–78

Kellner W. D. clay minerals in the Morrison formationon the colorado Plateau. U.S. Geological Survey.

landis et al. 2004 Transient liquid water as a mechanismfor soil crusts on Mars. LPSC 35 (abstracts), 2004.

Malin 1974 : Salt weathering on Mars. JGR 79,26, pp.3888–3894,

Marchant David R and Head iii James W. 2007 antarcticdry valleys: Microclimate zonation, variable geomor-phic processes, and implications for assessing climatechange on Mars. Icarus 192 (2007) 187–222

Martin, Jakob: Salt-desert Shrubland. http://www.cn-rhome.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=85873

Stoppato M. c. and Bini a: 2003: Deserts. a firefly Guide.

Documents

MDRS EXPEDITION GUIDEplanetologia.elte.hu/mdrs-geo-low.pdf · MDRS EXPEDITION GUIDE Geography final Report of crew nl (ljjp) and crew qk (“HungaroMars ljjr”) Edited by Henrik