Evidence for large reservoirs of water/mud in Utopia and Acidalia Planitiae on Mars
Evidence for large reservoirs of water/mud in Utopia and Acidalia Planitiae on Mars
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DOI：
10.1016/j.icarus.2014.11.013
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发表时间：
2015-03
期刊：
影响因子：
3.2
通讯作者：
M. Ivanov;H. Hiesinger;G. Erkeling;D. Reiss
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
M. Ivanov;H. Hiesinger;G. Erkeling;D. Reiss
乌托邦和Acidalia Planitiae表现出一系列相似的形态特征，表明这些区域地形低地存在大量的水/泥浆。这些特征中最重要的是：（1）撞击坑喷射物形态逐渐从盆地外围的弹道/壁垒转变为盆地中心部分的强烈降解的薄饼状，以及（2）蚀刻流（解释为泥流）集中在两个盆地中心部分的薄饼状喷射物占主导地位的区域。 Utopia 和 Acidalia Planitiae 中的 Vastitas Borealis 地层 (VBF) 代表了两个盆地中可能储层的最高地层界限，并且这些地区的年龄实际上相同；乌托邦平原的~3.57 (±0.02) Ga 和阿西达利亚平原的~3.61 (+0.05/−0.08) Ga。 VBF的南接触面紧随乌托邦平原（∼−3.6 km ± 54 m，距离∼1500 km）和Acidalia Planitia（∼−3.9 km ± 70 m，距离∼6000 km）的特定等高线。乌托邦和Acidalia Planitiae中大型水/泥水库的存在以及VBF的年龄和地形构造与火星北部平原存在广泛的单一水体（海洋）一致。
Utopia and Acidalia Planitiae show a set of similar morphologic features indicative of the presence of large reservoirs of water/mud in these regional topographic lows. The most important of these features are: (1) impact crater ejecta morphology that progressively changes from ballistic/rampart at the basins periphery to strongly degraded pancake-like in the central portions of the basins, and (2) etched flows (interpreted as mudflows) that are concentrated in those regions of the central portions of both basins where the pancake-like ejecta prevail. The Vastitas Borealis Formation (VBF) in Utopia and Acidalia Planitiae represents the uppermost stratigraphic limit of possible reservoirs in both basins and has practically the same age in these regions; ∼3.57 (±0.02) Ga in Utopia Planitia and ∼3.61 (+0.05/−0.08) Ga in Acidalia Planitia. The southern contact of the VBF closely follows specific contour lines in Utopia Planitia (∼−3.6 km ± 54 m, over a distance of ∼1500 km) and Acidalia Planitia (∼−3.9 km ± 70 m, over the distance of ∼6000 km). The presence of the large water/mud reservoirs and the age and topographic configuration of the VBF in Utopia and Acidalia Planitiae are consistent with the existence of an extensive single body of water (an ocean) in the northern plains of Mars.