bedding orientation along the opportunity rover …bedding orientation along the opportunity rover...

Bedding Orientation Along the Opportunity Rover Traverse Elena C. House-Hay 1 and Kevin W. Lewis 1 1 Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Baltimore, MD [email protected] Meridiani and Opportunity Since 2004, Opportunity rover has been exploring the geology of Meridiani Planum, Mars (landing site: 1.94°S by 354.47°E ) [1] . The rock formation that underlays most of Opportunity’s traverse is the Burns Formation. The Burns formation is comprised of various types of sandstones from aeolian and subaqueous settings made of siliclastic- rich evaporitic sediment. Previous and Related Work Previous work has explored the bedding arrangement of craters along the traverse seen in the figure to the right. Paleoflow conditions have been derived from these studies {3,6,7] . The less prominent areas along the traverse - fractured outcrops found commonly on the plains between craters - were the targets of this study. Current studies of wind direction at Meridiani will provide a comparison between paleoflow and current wind direction in future work [9] . Consistency of dips along the traverse suggests limited brecciation, indicating that the erosional surface of the Burns Formation retains stratigraphic information. Investigation into Elevation Future work aims to focus on the stratigraphic relationship between the outcrops found along the traverse and outcrops found in craters. Future work will extend these results to additional outcrops along the traverse, expanding the scope of the study. What is the degree of brecciation of the Burns Formation as seen from the Opportunity traverse? Above: Meridiani Panoramas. Top: Sol 291. Middle: Sol 2329. Bottom: Sol 2048. Images: http://pancam.astro.cornell.edu/ Brecciated or Intact? Brecciated Intact Crater Outcrop [1] Squyres, S. W. et al (2004) Science 307, 1698-1703. [2] Grotzinger, J. P. et al (2005) EPSL 240, 11-72. [3] Edgar, L.A. et al (2012) SEPM Special Publication 102, 195-209. [4] Squyres S. W. et al (2012) Science 336, 570-576. [5] Nahm A. L. et al (2007) GRL 34, L20203. [6] Hayes A. G. et al (2011) JGR 116, E00F21. [7] Metz J. M. et al (2009) JSR 79, 247- 264. [8] Hynek B. M. et al (2002) JGR 107, 5088. [9] Fenton, L. et al (2015) Elsevier 16, 75-99. Above: Opportunity’s Traverse across Meridiani Planum. Red Stars: sites of interest where outcrops are well-exposed and yield information on bedding orientation. Brown Dots: locations of mosaics. Base map from HiRISE and DTM from MOLA data. Opportunity Traverse A http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/artwork/hires/rover3.jpg Scale of Brecciation At the sites we have analyzed with two dimensional vector analysis, we have observed consistent westward dips on the scale of at least 100m. Preliminary analysis from additional sites suggests this trend continues toward the South. This would imply that the degree of brecciation along the erosional surface of the Burns Formation is limited. Above: The top three images are orthorectified versions of the stereo images directly beneath them. The red marks show individual bedding measurements that all show a westward dip. Site1 Site 3 Site 2

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Page 1: Bedding Orientation Along the Opportunity Rover …Bedding Orientation Along the Opportunity Rover Traverse Elena C. House-Hay1 and Kevin W. Lewis1 1Johns Hopkins University, Dept

Bedding Orientation Along the Opportunity Rover TraverseElena C. House-Hay1 and Kevin W. Lewis1

1Johns Hopkins University, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Baltimore, MD [email protected]

Meridiani and Opportunity

Since 2004, Opportunity rover has been exploring the geology of Meridiani Planum, Mars (landing site: 1.94°S by 354.47°E )[1]. The rock formation that underlays most of Opportunity’s traverse is the Burns Formation. The Burns formation is comprised of various types of sandstones from aeolian and subaqueous settings made of siliclastic-rich evaporitic sediment.

Previous and Related Work

Previous work has explored the bedding arrangement of craters along the traverse seen in the figure to the right. Paleoflow conditions have been derived from these studies {3,6,7]. The less prominent areas along the traverse - fractured outcrops found commonly on the plains between craters - were the targets of this study. Current studies of wind direction at Meridiani will provide a comparison between paleoflow and current wind direction in future work[9].

Consistency of dips along the traverse suggests limited brecciation, indicating that the erosional surface of the

Burns Formation retains stratigraphic information.

Investigation into Elevation

Future work aims to focus on the stratigraphic relationship between the outcrops found along the traverse and outcrops found in craters. Future work will extend these results to additional outcrops along the traverse, expanding the scope of the study.

What is the degree of brecciation of the Burns

Formation as seen from the Opportunity traverse?

Above: Meridiani Panoramas. Top: Sol 291. Middle: Sol 2329. Bottom: Sol 2048. Images: http://pancam.astro.cornell.edu/

Brecciated or Intact?

Brecciated

Intact Crater Outcrop

[1] Squyres, S. W. et al (2004) Science 307, 1698-1703. [2] Grotzinger, J. P. et al (2005) EPSL 240, 11-72. [3] Edgar, L.A. et al (2012) SEPM Special Publication 102, 195-209. [4] Squyres S. W. et al (2012) Science 336, 570-576. [5] Nahm A. L. et al (2007) GRL 34, L20203. [6] Hayes A. G. et al (2011) JGR 116, E00F21. [7] Metz J. M. et al (2009) JSR 79, 247-264. [8] Hynek B. M. et al (2002) JGR 107, 5088. [9] Fenton, L. et al (2015) Elsevier 16, 75-99.

Above: Opportunity’s Traverse across Meridiani Planum. Red Stars: sites of interest where outcrops are well-exposed and yield information on bedding orientation. Brown Dots: locations of mosaics. Base map from HiRISE and DTM from MOLA data.

Opportunity Traverse

http://mars.nasa.gov/mer/gallery/artwork/hires/rover3.jpg

Scale of Brecciation

At the sites we have analyzed with two dimensional vector analysis, we have observed consistent westward dips on the scale of at least 100m. Preliminary analysis from additional sites suggests this trend continues toward the South. This would imply that the degree of brecciation along the erosional surface of the Burns Formation is limited.

Above: The top three images are orthorectified versions of the stereo images directly beneath them. The red marks show individual bedding measurements that all show a westward dip.

Site1 Site 3 Site 2

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