Intrusion-Induced Forced Folding Model for the Origin of Séítah Formation Domes on the Jezero Crater Floor, Mars
(2026) In Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets 131(3).- Abstract
The JPL rover Perseverance's investigations of Jezero crater's floor reveal that the ultramafic Séítah formation and the overlying mafic Máaz formation are deformed into a broad, low-amplitude structural dome. Mastcam-Z stereo images processed into digital outcrop models, together with RIMFAX ground-penetrating radar profiles, were used to reconstruct the three-dimensional stratal geometry of both units along a SW–NE transect across a southern domain of the dome called south Séítah. Measurements from 3-D reconstructions show a progression from sub-horizontal layers in the central parts of the dome to dips <20° away from the dome on its flanks, with Máaz and underlying Séítah layers dipping concordantly. RIMFAX profiles and imaging... (More)
The JPL rover Perseverance's investigations of Jezero crater's floor reveal that the ultramafic Séítah formation and the overlying mafic Máaz formation are deformed into a broad, low-amplitude structural dome. Mastcam-Z stereo images processed into digital outcrop models, together with RIMFAX ground-penetrating radar profiles, were used to reconstruct the three-dimensional stratal geometry of both units along a SW–NE transect across a southern domain of the dome called south Séítah. Measurements from 3-D reconstructions show a progression from sub-horizontal layers in the central parts of the dome to dips <20° away from the dome on its flanks, with Máaz and underlying Séítah layers dipping concordantly. RIMFAX profiles and imaging around the dome confirm that limb dips are continuous into the subsurface and form a flat-crested composite quaquaversal fold structure. Séítah rocks in the fold core are up to 17 m higher than adjacent Máaz lava flows, despite stratigraphically underlying them, a relationship attributed to structural uplift. Fold geometry, wavelength (∼1 km), and amplitude (∼30–50 m), match models of forced folding produced by inflation of shallow igneous intrusions. The most likely cause is the emplacement of a sill or laccolith beneath the crater floor, generating elastic bending of the overlying layers. This intrusion-driven uplift explains Séítah's elevated position, constrains the deformation history of Jezero's crater floor units post-emplacement of the Séítah and Máaz formations, and supports a significant role for shallow magmatic intrusion in shaping intracrustal structures on Mars.
(Less)
- author
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-03
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- forced fold, Jezero crater, magmatic intrusion, Mars, Perseverance rover, Séítah formation
- in
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets
- volume
- 131
- issue
- 3
- article number
- e2025JE009463
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105033547731
- ISSN
- 2169-9097
- DOI
- 10.1029/2025JE009463
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2026. The Author(s).
- id
- 4a6a5752-c903-4a27-89ba-e861644d5990
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-22 11:17:42
- date last changed
- 2026-06-26 13:23:00
@article{4a6a5752-c903-4a27-89ba-e861644d5990,
abstract = {{<p>The JPL rover Perseverance's investigations of Jezero crater's floor reveal that the ultramafic Séítah formation and the overlying mafic Máaz formation are deformed into a broad, low-amplitude structural dome. Mastcam-Z stereo images processed into digital outcrop models, together with RIMFAX ground-penetrating radar profiles, were used to reconstruct the three-dimensional stratal geometry of both units along a SW–NE transect across a southern domain of the dome called south Séítah. Measurements from 3-D reconstructions show a progression from sub-horizontal layers in the central parts of the dome to dips <20° away from the dome on its flanks, with Máaz and underlying Séítah layers dipping concordantly. RIMFAX profiles and imaging around the dome confirm that limb dips are continuous into the subsurface and form a flat-crested composite quaquaversal fold structure. Séítah rocks in the fold core are up to 17 m higher than adjacent Máaz lava flows, despite stratigraphically underlying them, a relationship attributed to structural uplift. Fold geometry, wavelength (∼1 km), and amplitude (∼30–50 m), match models of forced folding produced by inflation of shallow igneous intrusions. The most likely cause is the emplacement of a sill or laccolith beneath the crater floor, generating elastic bending of the overlying layers. This intrusion-driven uplift explains Séítah's elevated position, constrains the deformation history of Jezero's crater floor units post-emplacement of the Séítah and Máaz formations, and supports a significant role for shallow magmatic intrusion in shaping intracrustal structures on Mars.</p>}},
author = {{Barnes, Robert and Gupta, Sanjeev and Treiman, Allan and Sholes, Steven and Paar, Gerhard and Tate, Christian and Bechtold, Andreas and Stack-Morgan, Katie and Bell, James F. and Maki, Justin and Horgan, Briony and Nuñez, Jorge and Traxler, Chris and Ortner, Thomas and Shoemaker Thackston, Emileigh S. and Hamran, Svein Erik and Alwmark, Sanna and Rice, Melissa and Sun, Vivian and Beyssac, Olivier and Annex, Andrew and Brown, Adrian and Kah, Linda and Flannery, David and Simon, Justin I. and Walter, Sebastian and Hickman-Lewis, Keyron and Farley, Ken}},
issn = {{2169-9097}},
keywords = {{forced fold; Jezero crater; magmatic intrusion; Mars; Perseverance rover; Séítah formation}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{3}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets}},
title = {{Intrusion-Induced Forced Folding Model for the Origin of Séítah Formation Domes on the Jezero Crater Floor, Mars}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2025JE009463}},
doi = {{10.1029/2025JE009463}},
volume = {{131}},
year = {{2026}},
}