Earth and Planetary Sciences ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 7-15-2019

Abstract

The Peace Vallis alluvial fan, located within Gale crater on the planet Mars, is a distributive fluvial system indicating a wet climate in Mars’ past. The Mars Science Laboratory rover instrument ChemCam, with the high-resolution Remote Micro-imager, was utilized to remotely explore the Peace Vallis alluvial fan and surrounding areas area. The Peace Vallis imaging campaigns 1 and 2, led by Dr. Horton Newsom and Zachary Gallegos respectively, acquired 20 distinct rover observations with a total of 243 individual images to investigate the fan. Using visual interpretation of the images and GIS techniques, this study interprets the processes and products that lead to the formation and evolution of this complex Peace Vallis distributive fluvial system including: recognition of a new fan structure perched above the Peace Vallis fan, shoreline deposits from Gale lake, nature of the Peace Vallis fan units, and stratigraphic correlation to the Mars Science Laboratory rover traverse.

Degree Name

Earth and Planetary Sciences

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences

First Committee Member (Chair)

Horton E. Newsom

Second Committee Member

Louis A. Scuderi

Third Committee Member

Laura J. Crossey

Language

English

Keywords

Mars, rover, ChemCam, alluvial, lacustrine, Peace Vallis

Document Type

Thesis

Download

Included in

Geology Commons

Share

COinS