Very recent karst landforms within Cagli crater, Sinus Meridiani, Mars

Davide Baioni (1)
(1) Planetary Geology Research Group, Dipartimento di Scienze Pure e Applicate, Università degli Studi di Urbino “Carlo Bo”, Campus Scientifico Enrico Mattei, 61029 Urbino (PU), Italy. Corresponding author: Davide Baioni, Planetary Geology Research Group, Dipartimento di Scienze Pure e Applicate, Università degli studi di Urbino “Carlo Bo”, Campus Scientifico Enrico Mattei, 61029 Urbino (PU), Italy. Tel. +39 0722 304268; E-mail address: davide.baioni@uniurb.it

This paper describes the possible karst landforms observed in the Light Toned Deposits (LTDs) located within the Cagli crater, a medium size crater located in northern Sinus Meridiani, an area near the equatorial region of Mars. A morphological and morphometric survey of the LTDs surface morphologies through an integrated analysis of the available Reconnaissance Mars Orbiter (MRO) High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images highlighted the presence of shallow depressions that display different shapes and sizes. The Martian landforms were interpreted as sinkhole resembling similarly karst landforms that can be observed both in different karst terrains on the Earth and in other regions of Mars. The karst landforms observed highlight the evaporitic origin of these materials and suggest both climatic change and the presence of liquid water, probably due to ice melting, during the late Amazonian period.

Mars, Sinus Meridiani, karst landforms, evaporite deposits, climatic change.