Evidence for mud volcanism in Acidalia Planitia: Implications for a Hesperian ocean on Mars

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The major objectives of the proposed study are the systematic investigation, description, and mapping of morphologic features on the surface of Mars. In particular, we propose to study degraded flow features and cones in the Acidalia Planitia region. The location of such features is indicative of the distribution of mud volcanism and its related reservoirs that are plausibly related to the existence of a north-polar ocean in Martian history. We will specifically address the following scientific questions: Does the observed surface morphology support the existence of a standing body of water in the northern Martian hemisphere? Is the morphology consistent with a northern hemisphere ocean or is it rather consistent with several individual seas? Is there a common origin of the morphologies (i.e., mud flows, polygonal terrain, thumbprint terrain, ghost craters, rampart craters) observed in Acidalia Planitia and similar morphologies observed in Utopia and Isidis Planitiae? If so, were they all formed by the same standing body of water?