Re-examination of the Martian Lacustrine History

Water level in large lakes fluctuate in response to major climatic cycles. Detailed temporal reconstructions of paleoclimate are based on correlations of lake-level chronologies. For example, paleolake-level variability across multiple enclosed basins in the western USA underpins our understanding of Pleistocene climate oscillations.

On Mars, impact crater basins hosted lakes and prior studies have mapped their global distribution. Few crater lakes have been investigated in detail to establish the paleo-lacustrine history (e.g., Gale, Jezero, Eberswalde), despite the fact that high-resolution image data is available to assess shoreline morphologies. Furthermore, an assessment of potential regional to global correlations has yet to be conducted. The proposed investigation will use high-resolution CTX images (6 m/pix), augmented with higher resolution HiRISE and MOC images, to conduct geomorphic mapping of approximately 30 former lake sites around the globe. The aim of this task is to identify shoreline features and characterize the relative timing of lake levels and associated volumes (determined from MOLA topographic data). Ultimately, regional or global climatic trends will be assessed through comparison between the suite of study locations and existing paleolacustrine histories published in the literature.