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Morphometry of volcanic cones on Mars in perspective of Astrobiological Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 May 2015

Michael Gilichinsky ,
Nikita Demidov  and
Elizaveta Rivkina
Michael Gilichinsky
Affiliation:
Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden. Affiliation at the time of manuscript preparation
Nikita Demidov
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino 142290, Russia Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow 119991, Russia
Elizaveta Rivkina*
Affiliation:
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino 142290, Russia
*
e-mail: elizaveta.rivkina@gmail.com
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Abstract

The permanently frozen volcanic sediment is one of the most promising geological objects for searching life on Mars. On Earth, volcanic intrusions into permafrost result in formation of the unique microbial communities. We propose several terrestrial analogues of Martian polar volcanoes, such as the permanently frozen volcanic sediments on the Kamchatka peninsula and in Antarctica. The present study shows applicability of the morphometric analysis for demonstration of the morphological similarity between the terrestrial and Martian cinder cones. In the present work, the morphometric analysis of young Martian landforms is based on the assumption that the conical structures identified on digital terrain model (DTM) are volcanic cinder cones. Morphometric analysis of the studied cones showed a range of degradation. The extent of degradation may be an indicator of age based on comparison with volcanic cinder cones on Earth. A morphometric analysis of potentially young volcanic cones in the North Polar Region of Mars was performed to estimate their relative age. The 14 potential cinder cones were identified using the DTM provided by Mars Express High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), allowing for the basic morphometric calculations. The majority of the cinder cones are localized in the Chasma Boreale region within the area 79°–81°N and 261°–295°E. The calculated morphometric parameters showed that the cone average steepness varied from 3.4° to 11.8°, cone height-to-width ratio varied from 0.025 to 0.12, and the ratio between surface and basal area of the cone varied from 1.005 to 1.131. The studied cinder cones were classified with respect to the morphometric ratios assuming that larger values correspond to the younger structures. Employing the terrestrial analogy of morphometric ratios as a proxy for relative geological age, we suggest that existing microorganisms may be found in permafrost of young Martian cinder cones.

Keywords

cinder conesDTMHRSCMarsmorphometryvolcanic permafrost
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , October 2015 , pp. 537 - 545
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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