Spatial and alignment analyses for a field of small volcanic vents south of Pavonis Mons and implications for the Tharsis province, Mars

Jacob E. Bleacher, Lori S. Glaze, Ronald Greeley, Ernst Hauber, Stephen M. Baloga, Susan E H Sakimoto, David Williams, Timothy D. Glotch

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

A field of small volcanic vents south of Pavonis Mons was mapped with each vent assigned a two-dimensional data point. Nearest neighbor and two-point azimuth analyses were applied to the resulting location data. Nearest neighbor results show that vents within this field are spatially random in a Poisson sense, suggesting that the vents formed independently of each other without sharing a centralized magma source at shallow depth. Two-point azimuth results show that the vents display north-trending alignment relationships between one another. This trend corresponds to the trends of faults and fractures of the Noachian-aged Claritas Fossae, which might extend into our study area buried beneath more recently emplaced lava flows. However, individual elongate vent summit structures do not consistently display the same trend. The development of the volcanic field appears to display tectonic control from buried Noachian-aged structural patterns on small, ascending magma bodies while the surface orientations of the linear vents might reflect different, younger tectonic patterns. These results suggest a complex interaction between magma ascension through the crust, and multiple, older, buried Tharsis-related tectonic structures.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)96-102
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Volume185
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 10 2009

Keywords

  • Arsia
  • Ascraeus
  • Mars
  • Pavonis
  • Tharsis
  • Tharsis Montes
  • alignment
  • nearest neighbor
  • spatial
  • statistics
  • two-point azimuth

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Geophysics
  • Geochemistry and Petrology

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