Martian Geomorphology: Exploring Geomorphological Processes and Landform Morphometry in Southern Ares Vallis
(2025) In Student thesis series INES NGEK01 20251Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science
- Abstract
- In this research, the geomorphology of the southern part of the Ares Vallis region on Mars was investigated, combining a classification of dominant land-shaping processes with the detailed morphometrical analysis for specific landforms individuated within the study area. Situated close to the Martian equator, Ares Vallis is one of the most well-preserved outflow channels on the planet. Its origin is attributed to catastrophic flooding events originating from nearby chaotic terrains. This study aimed to classify and interpret the main geomorphological processes that contributed to shaping the region, as well as to analyze smaller-scale landforms, several of which were compared to potential terrestrial analogues to evaluate similarities and... (More)
- In this research, the geomorphology of the southern part of the Ares Vallis region on Mars was investigated, combining a classification of dominant land-shaping processes with the detailed morphometrical analysis for specific landforms individuated within the study area. Situated close to the Martian equator, Ares Vallis is one of the most well-preserved outflow channels on the planet. Its origin is attributed to catastrophic flooding events originating from nearby chaotic terrains. This study aimed to classify and interpret the main geomorphological processes that contributed to shaping the region, as well as to analyze smaller-scale landforms, several of which were compared to potential terrestrial analogues to evaluate similarities and differences in morphology and scale. The map produced in this research, with the classification of different shaping processes, showed that aeolian activity is the dominant factor affecting the surface of modern Mars. Fluvioglacial processes also extensively affected the region of Ares Vallis, along with collapsed chaotic terrains. This classification, based on a self-produced interpretation key, presented an overall coherence with minor discrepancies with other studies and geologic maps of the region. Small-scale landforms were also localized using a literature-based identification key, the observed landforms were valleys, possible gullies and pingos, streamlined hills, barchan dunes, transverse aeolian ridges, and landslides. The morphometrical analysis of these features showed a reasonable consistency with other observations made on Mars for valleys, barchans, transverse aeolian ridges, landslides, and streamlined hills, while it raised some uncertainties regarding the candidate pingos and gullies. When compared to terrestrial counterparts, most of these landforms generally presented larger scales, even if they had similar morphological characteristics. Finally, this research presents numerous uncertainties that need to be acknowledged, such as the environmental differences between Mars and Earth, the subjectivity of interpretations and data resolution issues. Nevertheless, the results of this study still provide insights into the geomorphological characteristics of the area of Ares Vallis and its landforms. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9199683
- author
- Coluccia, Giulia LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- NGEK01 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Mars, Geomorphology, Planetary Geography, Planetary Geomorphology, Morphometry, Landfrom Morphometry, Martian Geomorphology, Martian Landforms, Ares Vallis
- publication/series
- Student thesis series INES
- report number
- 693
- language
- English
- id
- 9199683
- date added to LUP
- 2025-06-16 11:41:46
- date last changed
- 2025-06-16 11:41:46
@misc{9199683,
abstract = {{In this research, the geomorphology of the southern part of the Ares Vallis region on Mars was investigated, combining a classification of dominant land-shaping processes with the detailed morphometrical analysis for specific landforms individuated within the study area. Situated close to the Martian equator, Ares Vallis is one of the most well-preserved outflow channels on the planet. Its origin is attributed to catastrophic flooding events originating from nearby chaotic terrains. This study aimed to classify and interpret the main geomorphological processes that contributed to shaping the region, as well as to analyze smaller-scale landforms, several of which were compared to potential terrestrial analogues to evaluate similarities and differences in morphology and scale. The map produced in this research, with the classification of different shaping processes, showed that aeolian activity is the dominant factor affecting the surface of modern Mars. Fluvioglacial processes also extensively affected the region of Ares Vallis, along with collapsed chaotic terrains. This classification, based on a self-produced interpretation key, presented an overall coherence with minor discrepancies with other studies and geologic maps of the region. Small-scale landforms were also localized using a literature-based identification key, the observed landforms were valleys, possible gullies and pingos, streamlined hills, barchan dunes, transverse aeolian ridges, and landslides. The morphometrical analysis of these features showed a reasonable consistency with other observations made on Mars for valleys, barchans, transverse aeolian ridges, landslides, and streamlined hills, while it raised some uncertainties regarding the candidate pingos and gullies. When compared to terrestrial counterparts, most of these landforms generally presented larger scales, even if they had similar morphological characteristics. Finally, this research presents numerous uncertainties that need to be acknowledged, such as the environmental differences between Mars and Earth, the subjectivity of interpretations and data resolution issues. Nevertheless, the results of this study still provide insights into the geomorphological characteristics of the area of Ares Vallis and its landforms.}},
author = {{Coluccia, Giulia}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{Student thesis series INES}},
title = {{Martian Geomorphology: Exploring Geomorphological Processes and Landform Morphometry in Southern Ares Vallis}},
year = {{2025}},
}