Mud flow levitation on Mars: Insights from laboratory simulations

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985530%3A_____%2F20%3A00525127" target="_blank" >RIV/67985530:_____/20:00525127 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X20303502" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X20303502</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116406" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116406</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Mud flow levitation on Mars: Insights from laboratory simulations

Original language description

Sediment mobilisation occurring at depth and ultimately manifesting at the surface, is a process which may have operated on Mars. However, the propagation behaviour of this mixture of water and sediments (hereafter simply referred to as mud) over the martian surface, remains uncertain. Although most of the martian surface is below freezing today, locally warmer surface temperatures do occur, and our current knowledge suggests that similar conditions prevailed in the recent past. Here, we present the results of experiments performed inside a low pressure chamber to investigate mud propagation over a warm (similar to 295 K) unconsolidated sand surface under martian atmospheric pressure conditions (similar to 7 mbar). Results show that the mud boils while flowing over the warm surface. The gas released during this process can displace the underlying sand particles and hence erode part of the substrate. This “entrenched” flow can act as a platform for further mud propagation over the surface. The escaping gas causes intermittent levitation of the mud resulting in enhanced flow rates. The mud flow morphologies produced by these phenomena differ from those produced when mud flows over a frozen martian surface as well as from their terrestrial counterparts. The intense boiling removes the latent heat both from the mud and the subsurface, meaning that the mud flow would eventually start to freeze and hence changing again the way it propagates. The diverse morphology expressed by our experimental mudflows implies that caution should be exercised when interpreting flow features on the surface of Mars and other celestial bodies.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10507 - Volcanology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2020

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Earth and Planetary Science Letters

ISSN

0012-821X

e-ISSN

—

Volume of the periodical

545

Issue of the periodical within the volume

September

Country of publishing house

NL - THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Number of pages

12

Pages from-to

116406

UT code for WoS article

000549183200007

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85086478609