Mars versus Earth

Today:• ErosionNext Unit:• Volcanoes• Faults and Boundaries• Other Landforms

Big Ideas:» Rates of Change» The story of water and carbon

Essay:The above picture displays an alluvial fan-like structure. What planet is it found on, and how was it formed? Give evidence for your argument.

Our knowledge of the solar system is changing

Space travel is changing

Our knowledge of Mars is changing

Water on Mars

Deformation Bands of Mars and Earth(precursors of faults)

"This study provides a picture of not just surface water erosion, but true groundwater effects widely distributed over the planet," said Suzanne Smrekar, deputy project scientist.

Martian pack ice (a)Earth’s Antarctica (b)

Counting of craters indicates Martian pole melted 20 million years ago. Liquid water once existed on the surface of Mars.

Erosion of Earth and Mars

• Layered Mesas (and their formation)

• Mass Wasting• Canals: wind or

water?

Martian Winds

"We're seeing what look like smaller sand bedforms on the tops of larger dunes, and, when we zoom in more, a third set of bedforms topping those," said HiRISE co-investigator Nathan Bridges of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "On Earth, small bedforms can form and change on time scales as short as a day."

• Mars had liquid water at its surface• Mars is subject to dust storms with fantastic

winds

WHICH IS ERODING THE SURFACE OF MARS????

Hebes Chasma: Grand Canyon of Mars

Martian Avalanche