Brookhaven Academy 8th Grade Earth Science

Final Report

Introduction and Hypothesis:

Science Question: What effect does elevation have on Martian lava flows?

Our class was interested in conducting Earth Science research. After a Google

search, we came upon the ASU Mars project. From the results of our class survey, we

concluded that our class was very interested in studying volcanoes on Mars. After

completing background research, the class decided to focus on how elevation affects lava

flows.

By studying lava flows on Mars the geology of Mars can be revealed. This

research provides an accurate comparison between Earth’s features and Mar’s features.

Others have determined that Mar’s atmosphere is 1/100 of the Earth’s. This led us to

believe that lava flows on Mars would cool at a different rate than those on Earth. At this

point in the research process we had not observed lava flows on Mars.

Our Hypothesis: If a volcano has a high elevation, then the lava flows will be short.

Explanation: Because the temperature is lower at higher elevations, we assume that lava

will cool more quickly.

Background:

Olympus Mons, one of the youngest shield volcanoes, is the largest volcano in the

Mars solar system. The lava is sticky and tears when it moves. Ulysses Patera, buried by

Pavonis Mon’s lava, is located at the middle of Tharsis volcanism. This shield volcano’s

striking features are its old age and the two large impact craters located on it. Ceraunius

Tholus is a basaltic shield volcano located in the Tharsis quadrangle. The slopes are steep

with many radial erosion channels and pitted valleys. Arsia Mons is the southernmost

shield volcano on the Tharsis bulge.

All four volcanoes we examined are shield volcanoes. Because they are shield

volcanoes, this means that they are made up of almost entirely fluid lava flows. They

erupt high fluid lava.

MOLA Map of Mars Volcanoes

Olympus Mons

Ulysses Patera

Arsia Mons

Ceraunius Tholus

Definitions:

Shield volcanoes- Type of volcano usually built almost of fluid lava flows

Altitude- The height of an object above sea level

Slope- Surface of which one end or side is higher than the other

Lava Flows- Streams of molten rock that pour or ooze from an erupting vent

Atmosphere- A layer of gases that may surround a material body of

sufficient mass

Caldera- A cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of

land following a volcanic eruption

Olympus Mons- Shield volcano, 14 miles high, tallest mountain in the solar

system, 370 miles wide, the summit has 6 nested calderas, 2 miles deep

Image of Lava Flows on Mars

Lava Flow Formation on Earth

Streams of molten rocks ooze from an erupting vent and the lava cools. The lava

flow speed depends on many factors. For example, the type of lava that erupts and the

viscosity of the lava affect the lava flow pace. When traveling down a steep slope,

lava flows are capable of moving 10 kilometers an hour. Viscous andesite flows move

very slowly, and usually do not extend more than 8 kilometers away from their vents.

Because of the lack of information on the formation of lava flows on Mars,

researchers assume the lava flow formations on Mars are very similar to the lava flow

formations on Earth.

Supporting Hypothesis: Carr et al., discussed in their research that the length

of flows varies with altitude of the vent. They stated that the higher the vent,

the shorter the flow.

Ceraunius Tholus

Arsia Mons

Geographic Locations:

elevation: 22 km

slope: 2-5 degrees

width: 550 km

latitude: 18.4 north

longitude: 226 east

elevation: 5.5 km

slope: 8 degrees

width: 130 km

latitude: 24.25 north

longitude:262 west

elevation: 2-3 km

slope: 2-7 degrees

width: 2.24 km

latitude: 2.7 north

longitude:121 west

elevation: 18.1 km

slope: 7 degrees

width: 110 km

latitude: 10 south

longitude:239 east

Ulysses Patera

Olympus Mons

Methods

JMARS was employed to measure lengths of lava flows on the following

volcanoes: Pavonis Mons, Olypmus Mons, Ulysses Patera, and Arsia Mons

1) Login to J Mars.

2) Enter longitude and latitude on the volcano.

3) Click on:

Add new layer

Stamps

Themis

4) Type in longitude and latitude then click Okay.

5) Once blue boxes appear, zoom into the vent of the volcano.

6) Double click on blue box until it turns yellow.

7) Right click and select Render Selected THEMIS Stamps.

8) Click Render Selected BWS.

9) After the box loads, zoom in and search for visible lava flows.

10) On the left, move Custom Shape box up to control this box.

11) Right click and select Add Points/Lines/Polygons

12) Double click on the beginning of the lava flow, drag the curser over and click the

path of the lava flow until the end.

13) Double click on Custom Shape.

14) Click on Feature and Edit Columns.

15) Name: length Type: Perimeter

16) Select Add Column and Okay.

17) Record length in notebook.

Targeted THEMIS Image

THEMIS Image

Example of Measurements

Data Tables

0

5

10

15

20

25

15500 16000 16500 17000 17500 18000 18500

Lav

a F

low

Len

gth

Elevation

Arsia Mons

Series1

Linear (Series1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000

Lava Flow Length

Elevation

Pavonis Mons

Series1

Linear (Series1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

12,000 12,200 12,400 12,600 12,800

Lava Flow Length

Elevation

Ulysses Pattera

Series1

Linear (Series1)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

18,500 19,000 19,500 20,000

Lava Flow Length

Elevation

Olympus Mons

Series1

Linear (Series1)

0

5

10

15

20

25

0 5000 10000 15000 20000 25000

Lava Flow Length

Elevation

Combined Lava Flow Data

Series1

Linear (Series1)

Discussion

In doing preliminary research, the following facts on Mars were discovered:

Because of the thin Martian atmosphere, little heat is retained. Heat present on

Mars comes from solar radiation absorbed by the ground. The temperature on Mars

ranges from -80˚F to 70˚F. The atmosphere on Mars is one hundred times thinner than

Earth’s. Weather, clouds, and winds exist on Mars. Wind currents lift dust into the air,

absorbing sunlight, and allows for heating of the Martian surface. This causes dust

storms.

Our targeted image showed wind streaks as well as evidence of lava flows. This

image along with other data collected was invaluable in our research.

Errors and Bias

Human errors are often present in group research. Misinterpretations may also

happen during research projects. Our research was limited due to not being able to find

THEMIS images covering the entire volcano. Because we began this project with very

little knowledge, we were not bias. The amount of data that we collected creates a greater

potential for error.

Conclusions

Science Question: What effect does elevation have on Martian lava flows?

Data showed that volcanic elevation does have an effect on lava flows. The

average flow length was longer for lowest elevation volcano and shorter for the highest

elevation volcano. Atmospheric temperature has an effect on the cooling rate of lava

flows. Adiabatic temperature changes can be used to explain the data results. In this

process, as air is heated by the surface it expands. As the air expands it becomes lighter

and rises. As it rises, it expands even more. It is able to continue to expand because of

the low pressure in higher elevations. Lower pressure means there is fewer molecules

present. Fewer molecules allows for more expansion room. Energy is needed for

molecular expansion. The expansion room leads to less vibration of the molecules.

Because of this the temperature of the molecules drops. The air cools and moves toward

the Martian surface. This movement increases atmospheric pressure at lower elevation.

This in turn causes greater movement of molecules and an increased temperature.

Therefore, adiabatic warming and cooling keeps the temperature at the surface of Mars

higher than that at higher elevations. This allows for lava flows to be longer at low

elevations compared to lava flows at higher elevations.

Hypothesis: Our hypothesis was supported by Carr et al.’s research. Their research

supports the theory that the higher the altitude of a vent the shorter the lava flow will be.

Future Work

There is much future work to be done in understanding lava flows on Mars. There are

many still unknowns about Mars and what factors affect the lava flows. To expand this

research project more lava flow data should be collected on volcanoes of varying

altitudes. Other variables that might affect lava flows are the location of the volcano on

the Martian surface and the slope of the volcano.

Acknowledgements

A special thanks to Miss Jessica Swann for her invaluable guidance throughout this

project. She has the patience of Job and a heart for students and their education. This

project would not have been possible without her guidance.

Also, a special thanks to ASU for providing this program to encourage Mars exploration.

References

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