Fracture systems and tectonics of Mars
Abstract
Fractures of the Martian crust were mapped from a uniform sampling of Mariner 9 imagery from 50 N to 50 S and parallel to the equator. During this mapping, a coherent planet wide fracture fabric was identified as well as fabrics associated with regional tectonic provinces. The planet wide fabric consists of two orthogonal fracture sets, one oriented approximately N45 E and the other set N45 W. Due to its great relative density within the oldest surfaces and its apparent influence upon the regional tectonic systems, it is presumed to be the oldest group of tectonic elements recognizable within the Martian crust. The largest regional tectonic system is that of the Tharsis complex, whose influence extends throughout most of the Western Hemisphere. It consists of broad, regional uplift and associated volcanism. The radial fracture pattern suggests that the extensional principal stress direction, is concentric to the approximate center of the Tharsis region.
- Publication:
-
Ph.D. Thesis
- Pub Date:
- 1974
- Bibcode:
- 1974PhDT.........7H
- Keywords:
-
- Fracture Mechanics;
- Mars Surface;
- Tectonics;
- Mariner 9 Space Probe;
- Orthogonality;
- Planetary Crusts;
- Volcanoes;
- Lunar and Planetary Exploration