Mineralogical survey and mapping of northern Iani Chaos

Abstract

Introduction: Chaotic terrains on Mars are partially enclosed basins surrounded by extensional fractured and eroded highlands, whose origin is considered the result of different processes that could have triggered massive release of groundwater on to the surface and subsequent collapse of the surface [e.g. 1,[2]. In particular, Iani Chaos is a main example of morphologically complex chaotic terrain (Figure 1a), this area is located in the east of Valles Marineris, at the northern margin of Margaritifer Terra and at the head of Ares Vallis, on Mars, centered at 2.0°N, 342.2°E.In this work, we focused the analysis on a northern region of Iani Chaos (Figure 1b). The area is characterized by chaotic terrain morphology, knobby terrain, mesas, fractures, and Light Toned Layered Deposits generally in the lower parts, as well as aeolian deposits.Within this mapping study we also investigated the presence of hydrated minerals using hyperspectral data combined with high resolution images. We produced a preliminary map to investigate the hypothesis of a possible geothermal system in this region. To this end, we focused in the search of hydrated minerals that could be formed by the interaction between groundwater in a low temperature geothermal system.