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The Mystery of Mars' Bizarre Plumbing

Posted by Soulskill on from the who-built-this-place-anyway dept.

astroengine writes "Hesperia Planum: once a Martian plain — a regular, no-surprises, run-of-the-mill plain. But now, thanks to researchers who used high-resolution imagery from the armada of satellites currently orbiting the Red Planet, Hesperia Planum holds a mystery. Sinuous rilles, a common feature in ancient volcanic regions on Mars and the Moon, appear across Hesperia, but they appear to have no origin and no destination. If they were formed by lava flows, wouldn't they originate near volcanoes? This oddity has led Tracy Gregg and her student Carolyn Roberts of the University at Buffalo to postulate an entirely different rille formation process that could make Hesperia Planum a whole lot more interesting than scientists ever thought."

6 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Everyone knows the answer ... by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Funny

    Giant Sand Worms.

    1. Re:Everyone knows the answer ... by gstoddart · · Score: 5, Funny

      I control the spice, I control THE UNIVERSE!

      Dude, pass the bong already. :-P

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Everyone knows the answer ... by Muad'Dave · · Score: 3, Insightful

      My life story.

      --
      Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
    3. Re:Everyone knows the answer ... by Hijacked+Public · · Score: 2

      I hope you don't get sent to mod prison for this.

      With that UID you've waited a long time for a sand worm story, and you should be given the latitude to have fun with it.

      --
      "Sacrifice for the good of The State" - The State
  2. Shield Volcanos? by ByOhTek · · Score: 2

    I don't know much about the geology, but could it possibly be the result of a shield volcano?

    --
    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
    1. Re:Shield Volcanos? by demonbug · · Score: 4, Interesting

      I don't know much about the geology, but could it possibly be the result of a shield volcano?

      That's basically the current/default understanding - the rilles were created from subsurface flows of lava that left empty lava tubes, which collapsed leaving the rilles behind. Similar to what you see, on a much smaller scale, in places like Lava Beds on the Modoc plateau in Northern California.

      This study points out that some of the rilles don't appear to really be starting or ending at identifiable volcanic vents/craters, and so they are questioning whether they are actually the result of volcanic activity. If you take a look at this photo, you can sort of see what they mean. The feature pointed out with the arrows looks a lot more like a stream bed than it does a collapsed lava tube. It is hard to really form a strong opinion from the photo, though; it is difficult to tell if the feature is actually following topography like a gravity flow.