TY - JOUR
T1 - A large paleolake basin at the head of Ma'adim Vallis, Mars
AU - Irwin, Rossman P.
AU - Maxwell, Ted A.
AU - Howard, Alan D.
AU - Craddock, Robert A.
AU - Leverington, David W.
PY - 2002/6/21
Y1 - 2002/6/21
N2 - At 8 to 15 kilometers wide, Ma'adim Vallis is one of the largest valleys in the martian highlands. Although a groundwater source was previously suggested, the channel originates at a spillway in the divide of a ∼3,000,000-square-kilometer closed drainage basin. The interior morphology of this source basin, including likely shoreline features following topographic contours, suggests that Ma'adim Vallis was created through catastrophic overflow of a ∼1,100,000-square-kilometer highland take. The size, constant levels, and interior morphology of three regional paleolake basins require a warmer paleo-climate and a long-term, recharged, stable highland water table more than ∼3.5 billion years ago.
AB - At 8 to 15 kilometers wide, Ma'adim Vallis is one of the largest valleys in the martian highlands. Although a groundwater source was previously suggested, the channel originates at a spillway in the divide of a ∼3,000,000-square-kilometer closed drainage basin. The interior morphology of this source basin, including likely shoreline features following topographic contours, suggests that Ma'adim Vallis was created through catastrophic overflow of a ∼1,100,000-square-kilometer highland take. The size, constant levels, and interior morphology of three regional paleolake basins require a warmer paleo-climate and a long-term, recharged, stable highland water table more than ∼3.5 billion years ago.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0037150652&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1126/science.1071143
DO - 10.1126/science.1071143
M3 - Article
C2 - 12077414
AN - SCOPUS:0037150652
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 296
SP - 2209
EP - 2212
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 5576
ER -