RECONSTRUCTION OF AEOLIAN PALAEOENVIRONMENTS AND PAST CLIMATE EVENTS AT THE GREENHEUGH PEDIMENT, AEOLIS MONS, MARS
Résumé
The signature of major and minor climate events can be recorded in the stratigraphic rec-ord of ancient aeolian dune fields. Sustained aridifica-tion may permit construction of dune fields and preservation of aeolian strata in areas previously char-acterized by strata deposited by water in humid condi-tions. Minor climate events may be manifest as episod-ic changes of the prevailing wind – such as direction reversal – can be encoded by changes to the strati-graphic architecture and facies preserved within an accumulating dune field’s stratigraphic succession. By documenting the stratigraphic record and understand-ing how surface processes generate these strata, cli-mate trends at different time scales can be deciphered, allowing more granular reconstruction of the ancient climates.
Between Sols 2600 and 2750, the MSL rover inves-tigated the Stimson formation – which unconformably overlies the lacustrine Murray formation [1,2] – at the north edge of the Greenheugh pediment, to determine the depositional origin and processes which formed the capping unit. The pediment capping unit is interpreted to be an up-slope extension of the Stimson formation, and part of the Siccar point group [1,2,3], which are part of the broader “Mound skirting unit” seen across the lower northern flank of Aeolis Mons [4].
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