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Igneous diversity is common on terrestrial planets and has been experimentally investigated for the Earth and Mars, but only suggested for Venus. Since Venus and Earth are sister planets and have similar bulk chemistry, experiments on terrestrial basalts can place constraints on the formation of the Venera and Vega basalts. Furthermore, experimental results can suggest the types of magmas that should...
In February 2007, the New Horizons spacecraft flew by the Jupiter system, obtaining images of Io, the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. The Multicolor Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC), a four-color (visible to near infrared) camera, obtained 17 sets of images. The Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), a high-resolution panchromatic camera, obtained 190 images, including many of Io...
A distinctive flow deposit southwest of Cerberus Fossae on Mars is analyzed. The flow source is a ∼20m deep, ∼12×1.5km wide depression within a yardang associated with the Medusae Fossae Formation. The flow traveled for ∼40km following topographic lows to leave a deposit on average 3–4km wide. The surface morphology of the deposit suggests that it was produced by the emplacement of a fluid flowing...
Alba Mons is a unique, very extensive but shallow volcanotectonic construct in northern Tharsis, Mars. Numerous models have been presented to explain the formation of Alba Mons and its most characteristic feature, a wristwatch-like pattern of radial and circumferential graben. We used a wide selection of topographic datasets to characterize the fault throw variation on nine topographic transects across...
We report the latest volcanic activity on Io based on our ground-based observations made in 2011 and 2012 using just a 1-m telescope, at 8.9μm where Io’s thermal radiation dominates solar reflected light seen at shorter wavelengths. A particular result from these observations is that the power we detected from a bright hotspot at the longitude of 282±18°, perhaps Daedalus Patera, was ∼10 13 ...
A comparative assessment of the mineralogy of young basalts (∼1.2Ga to ∼2.8Ga) from the western nearside, Moscoviense basin, and the Orientale basin of the Moon has been made using Level 2 Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M 3 ) data from the Chandrayaan-1 mission. Spectral data characteristics of the individual units have been generated from fresh small craters to minimize the complications due to...
Fan-shaped deposits (FSD) superposed on the sides of the Tharsis Montes volcanic edifices are widely interpreted to have been formed by cold-based glaciation during the Late Amazonian, a period when the Tharsis Montes were volcanically active. We survey the ∼166,000km 2 Arsia Mons FSD using new, high-resolution image and topography data and describe numerous landforms indicative of volcano–ice...
Jupiter’s second Galilean satellite, Europa, is a Moon-sized body with an icy shell and global ocean approximately 100km thick surrounding a rocky interior. Its surface displays extensive tectonic activity in a geologically recent past. Europa’s most ubiquitous surface features, double ridges, have a central trough flanked by two raised edifices. Double ridges can extend hundreds of kilometers and...
We have examined the variability of thermal emission from lava flows at Amirani on Io, using measurements of radiant flux from detections by the Galileo Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) between 1996 and 2001. Amirani is the longest currently active lava flow field in the Solar System and a persistent thermal source in every Galileo NIMS observation that covers its location. We have quantified...
Orbital observations by the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft are used to re-evaluate the nature and origin of the oldest mapped plains deposits on Mercury, the intercrater and intermediate plains units defined by Mariner 10 investigators. Despite the large areal extent of these plains, which comprise approximately one-third of the planetary surface...
We have imaged Io in the near-infrared (1–5μm) with adaptive optics on the 10-m W.M. Keck II and the Gemini North telescopes. We have constructed global maps from the data taken in 2010. Although numerous hot spots are visible, the maps are dominated by two volcanic centers: Loki Patera and Kanehekili Fluctus.We have examined in detail the thermal emission from Janus Patera and Kanehekili Fluctus...
Observations obtained with the near-infrared camera NIRC2, coupled to the adaptive optics system on the 10-m W.M. Keck II telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, on 15 August 2013 at ∼15:30UT revealed two large “Outburst”-class volcanic eruptions on Io. Follow-up observations five days later showed that both eruptions had substantially faded. The most energetic eruption was at Rarog Patera, at a location...
We present initial data from our campaign to monitor Io in the near-infrared, beginning in August 2013, using 3.8-μm adaptive optics imaging at Gemini N and 2–5μm disk-integrated spectroscopy at NASA’s IRTF. Conducted during 2013–2014, these observations are coincident with the ISAS/JAXA EXCEED mission’s continuous monitoring of the Io plasma torus and will enable the speculated effects of volcanic...
The lunar surface is characterized by asymmetric distribution of its volcanic deposits. The nearside contains about 90% of the mare basalts, while there are a few on the farside with some are in the South Pole Aitken (SPA) basin, which is the largest and oldest impact basin on the Moon. Although the mare volcanism on the nearside of the Moon has been very well characterized, our understanding of the...
Radar provides a unique means to analyze the surface and subsurface physical properties of geologic deposits, including their wavelength-scale roughness, the relative depth of the deposits, and some limited compositional information. The NASA Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter’s (LRO) Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument has enabled these analyses on the Moon at a global scale. Mini-RF has accumulated...
The lunar nearside large volcanic complexes, such as the Rümker Hills, Aristarchus Plateau, and Marius Hills are likely sites of intense and sustained magmatic activity. These volcanic complexes, recently proposed to be shield volcanoes, are generally located at regionally high elevations and some feature relatively well-localized positive gravity anomalies. Applying localized spectral analyses on...
We produced a geologic map of the Av-9 Numisia quadrangle of asteroid Vesta using Dawn spacecraft data to serve as a tool to understand the geologic relations of surface features in this region. These features include the plateau Vestalia Terra, a hill named Brumalia Tholus, and an unusual “dark ribbon” material crossing the majority of the map area. Stratigraphic relations suggest that Vestalia Terra...
A new mapping-based study of the 900-km-long Mangala Valles outflow system was motivated by the availability of new high-resolution images and continued debates about the roles of water and lava in outflow channels on Mars. This study uses photogeologic analysis, geomorphic surface mapping, cratering statistics, and relative stratigraphy. Results show that Mangala Valles underwent at least two episodes...
We identify nine new faint thermal sources on Io via color ratio images constructed from relatively high spatial resolution Galileo NIMS data acquired late in the mission. All of these identifications are associated with small dark paterae. We utilize NIMS data to quantify their volcanic thermal emission as ∼0.53×10 12 W (or ∼0.5% of Io’s total heat flow). In addition, we refine our previous...
Explosive extrusion of cold material from the interior of icy bodies, or cryovolcanism, has been observed on Enceladus and, perhaps, Europa, Triton, and Ceres. It may explain the observed evidence for a young surface on Charon (Pluto’s surface is masked by frosts). Here, we evaluate prerequisites for cryovolcanism on dwarf planet-class Kuiper belt objects (KBOs). We first review the likely spatial...
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