Mariner Valley on Mars: characteristics, structure, origin

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Mariner Valley is one of the largest canyons in the solar system, which is located on the planet Mars. A huge network of gorges and ridges is located along the Martian equator and occupies most of the planet. The canyons were found in 1971-1972 during the survey of the planet by the Marine-9 spacecraft. In honor of this device, they got their name.

Characteristics of the valley

Mariner Valley covers the vast territory of the planet Mars and is rightfully considered one of the largest relief formations in the solar system. The canyons are approximately 4,000 km long and 200 km wide, with a depth of up to 11 km in some places. The size of the object is so huge that if it were on the territory of our planet, it would occupy the entire territory of the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.

The valley originates in the west from the labyrinth of the Night, where the arrangement of the ridges is very similar to an intricate structure, and ends near the plain of Chrys. Due to the vast extent of the territory, at one end of the valley you can observe the night, and at the other - already day. Also, the area is characterized by significant temperature differences, as a result of which strong andcold winds.

The results of a number of studies and certain features indicate that the territory of the valley was once filled with water at the level of the surface of the relief. The evidence is found in the valley cracks in the crust, eroded depressions, cliffs and rocks.

In a telescope from our planet, the Mariner Valley on Mars looks like a rough scar. It stretched across the surface of the red planet.

How the Marinera Valley is divided

The western part of the valley is considered the beginning of the canyon and is called the Labyrinth of Night. Here the ridges and rocks form many different canyons intersecting with each other. To the west, the curves of the upland flatten into the Tharsis plateau. In the south and southeast, the valley is also surrounded by vast plateaus - Syria, Sinai and the Sun.

Closer to the north of the canyons, shallower depressions diverge. In the east, the valley connects with the dilapidated Audemans crater, and then passes into the canyons of Io and Titon. According to hardware research, it was possible to establish that the blocks of canyons and valleys consist of the most ancient rocks of volcanic origin. The surface of the Martian blocks, judging by the images and readings of analyzer sensors, is partly smooth, and partly bumpy and destroyed as a result of wind drifts.

Main Canyons

Io Canyon is located on the east side of the valley. The canyon floor is not cratered or eroded, with mostly landslide material present in the rocks. Teton Canyon is also located in the eastern partvalleys and has a structure and nature of formations similar to Io. Both canyons are filled with rocks from the Tharsis Highlands and lava flows.

Continue the Mariner Valley with several more canyons: Melass, Ophir and Kandor. These objects are interconnected and contain volcanic ash, collapsed rock materials, and lava fossils.

Further east behind the canyons Titon and Io stretches the canyon Koprat, the walls of which have a pronounced layered structure. Significant damage is visible in its gorges caused by numerous landslides and constant winds. Also, according to the traces of a number of materials, it is assumed that once there were lakes.

Continue Koprat canyons Eos and Ganges. Partially, Eos has characteristic grooves and stripes, which, most likely, appeared under the influence of fluid flows. The bottom of the Ganges Canyon is lined with volcanic and weathered materials.

Martian chaos

Behind the gorges of Eos and the Ganges, the famous Martian chaos follows. This is the name of places with an unexpressed or disturbed relief, which is filled with randomly scattered ridges, plateaus, cracks and other planetary structures. The random combination of different types of relief does not allow us to accurately determine the cause of its origin, however, the scale of the chaos testifies to the incredible power and duration of the impact on this region of the planet.

The regions of chaos are gradually leveling off and moving into the Chrysian Plain, which is considered the lowest part on Mars. Judging bythe relief of the plain and the structure of the rock, there were also numerous water sources.

Mists and clouds over canyons

Mist often rises over the western part of Marimer in the morning, which contains particles of water ice. The reason for the morning fogs is the warm air temperature, which lasts here longer than in the rest of the territory.

When Mars is at its closest point to the Sun (perihelion), clouds form over the canyons. Martian clouds are very long - up to 1000 km in length and width. They also consist of water ice, and their origin is associated with the features of the planet's topography.

What is the Mariner Valley

There are a lot of versions about the origin. For some time, there was an assumption among researchers that the Mariner valleys are the result of water erosion caused by the melting of permafrost. Other scientists believed that the fall of a huge meteorite contributed to the appearance of the valleys.

But the majority of scientists adhere to the main version, confident that the canyons appeared due to a sharp and significant cooling of the planet Mars. It is possible that the real reason for the formation of these extended valleys is the overlap of several factors, as well as the further expansion of these structural formations under the influence of erosion.