ゲールクレーターにある火星の河川群集
R M E Williams1, J P Grotzinger, W E Dietrich
1Planetary Science Institute, Tucson, AZ 85719, USA. williams@psi.edu
まとめ
古代の火星には,小石を動かすことができる流れる川があり,暖かく湿った過去を示しています. ゲールクレーターからのこれらの発見は,今日の寒くて乾燥した条件と気候の有意な違いを示唆しています.
科学分野:
- 惑星科学は惑星科学である.
- 地質学 地質学 地質学
- 天体生物学 アストロバイオロジー
背景:
- 火星のゲールクレーターには地質学的な特徴があります.
- 火星科学研究所 (MSL) のミッションは,火星の地質を調査する.
研究 の 目的:
- ゲールクレーターで見つかった堆積堆積物を分析するために.
- その形成に必要な環境条件を決定する.
主な方法:
- マストカメラ (Mastcam) による小石の浮き彫りの画像撮影.
- ChemCamの放射スペクトルを用いた化学分析.
主要な成果:
- 観察されたセメント製の小石 (2-40mm) と,河川の結集構造を持つ砂粒.
- 丸い小石は,水による著しい摩擦を示唆しています.
- ChemCamのデータは,水性変化が最小限でフェルドスパスの組成を示しています.
- 水は0.03-0.9mの深さで,0.20-0.75m/sの速度で流れている証拠があります.
結論:
- ゲールクレーターの古代の水流は,小石を運ぶのに十分な量であった.
- 火星の過去の気候は,現在の非常に乾燥した環境よりもかなり暖かく湿ったものでした.
- これらの条件は,広範囲にわたる,数キロメートルに渡る河川過程を支えた.
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