Blocks and Valleys in Southwestern Melas Chasma
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona
Blocks and Valleys in Southwestern Melas Chasma
PSP_004384_1705  Science Theme: Landscape Evolution
This HiRISE image covers a portion of the wallrock and canyon floor in southwestern Melas Chasma.

Along the floor of Melas Chasma is an unusual blocky deposit composed of light-toned blocks in a darker matrix. The high resolution of the HiRISE image reveals layers only a few meters thick in some of the light-toned blocks. The blocks vary in size but most fall between 100 to 500 meters in diameter.

Although most blocks appear rounded, others have angular edges and can be very elongated. The morphologies of the blocks suggest ductile deformation, such as from a flow or by tectonic disruption after emplacement. Windblown (aeolian) ripples are interspersed between the blocks in the darker matrix.

Small valleys can be seen along the wallrock to the south. The wallrock is a mixture of two geologic units that differ mainly in their reflectance. The light-toned unit appears to be thinner and only exposed in localized spots. Several of the light-toned deposits are seen only in the valleys, suggesting they were either deposited or are exposed by erosion.

Written by: Cathy Weitz  (8 August 2007)

This is a stereo pair with ESP_012216_1705.
 
Acquisition date
04 July 2007

Local Mars time
14:58

Latitude (centered)
-9.064°

Longitude (East)
282.550°

Spacecraft altitude
257.7 km (160.2 miles)

Original image scale range
28.3 cm/pixel (with 1 x 1 binning) so objects ~85 cm across are resolved

Map projected scale
25 cm/pixel and North is up

Map projection
Equirectangular

Emission angle
21.3°

Phase angle
26.0°

Solar incidence angle
45°, with the Sun about 45° above the horizon

Solar longitude
269.7°, Northern Autumn

For non-map projected images
North azimuth:  97°
Sub-solar azimuth:  337.8°
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non-map           (765MB)

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ANAGLYPHS
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Full resolution JP2 download
Anaglyph details page

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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HiView

NB
IRB: infrared-red-blue
RGB: red-green-blue
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Black & white is 5 km across; enhanced color about 1 km
For scale, use JPEG/JP2 black & white map-projected images

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All of the images produced by HiRISE and accessible on this site are within the public domain: there are no restrictions on their usage by anyone in the public, including news or science organizations. We do ask for a credit line where possible:
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

POSTSCRIPT
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, Washington. The HiRISE camera was built by Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation and is operated by the University of Arizona.