Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- 1 Overview of megaflooding: Earth and Mars
- 2 Channel-scale erosional bedforms in bedrock and in loose granular material: character, processes and implications
- 3 A review of open-channel megaflood depositional landforms on Earth and Mars
- 4 Jökulhlaups in Iceland: sources, release and drainage
- 5 Channeled Scabland morphology
- 6 The morphology and sedimentology of landforms created by subglacial megafloods
- 7 Proglacial megaflooding along the margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet
- 8 Floods from natural rock-material dams
- 9 Surface morphology and origin of outflow channels in the Valles Marineris region
- 10 Floods from fossae: a review of Amazonian-aged extensional–tectonic megaflood channels on Mars
- 11 Large basin overflow floods on Mars
- 12 Criteria for identifying jökulhlaup deposits in the sedimentary record
- 13 Megaflood sedimentary valley fill: Altai Mountains, Siberia
- 14 Modelling of subaerial jökulhlaups in Iceland
- 15 Jökulhlaups from Kverkfjöll volcano, Iceland: modelling transient hydraulic phenomena
- 16 Dynamics of fluid flow in Martian outflow channels
- Index
- Plate section
- References
11 - Large basin overflow floods on Mars
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- 1 Overview of megaflooding: Earth and Mars
- 2 Channel-scale erosional bedforms in bedrock and in loose granular material: character, processes and implications
- 3 A review of open-channel megaflood depositional landforms on Earth and Mars
- 4 Jökulhlaups in Iceland: sources, release and drainage
- 5 Channeled Scabland morphology
- 6 The morphology and sedimentology of landforms created by subglacial megafloods
- 7 Proglacial megaflooding along the margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet
- 8 Floods from natural rock-material dams
- 9 Surface morphology and origin of outflow channels in the Valles Marineris region
- 10 Floods from fossae: a review of Amazonian-aged extensional–tectonic megaflood channels on Mars
- 11 Large basin overflow floods on Mars
- 12 Criteria for identifying jökulhlaup deposits in the sedimentary record
- 13 Megaflood sedimentary valley fill: Altai Mountains, Siberia
- 14 Modelling of subaerial jökulhlaups in Iceland
- 15 Jökulhlaups from Kverkfjöll volcano, Iceland: modelling transient hydraulic phenomena
- 16 Dynamics of fluid flow in Martian outflow channels
- Index
- Plate section
- References
Summary
Summary
Breaches of large natural basins, usually initiated by high runoff or meltwater production in their contributing watersheds, have been responsible for the most intense recognised terrestrial floods. Some of the many impact craters and intercrater basins in the Martian highlands also apparently overflowed during the Noachian Period (>3.7 Ga), forming relatively wide and deep outlet valleys. Broad, mid-latitude basins overflowed to carve Ma'adim Vallis and the Uzboi–Ladon–Morava Valles system, which are similar in scale to the terrestrial Grand Canyon but record much larger formative discharges. Other valley network stems of comparable size are also associated with smaller breached basins or broad areas of topographic convergence, and even the smaller basin outlets are typically deeper than other valleys in their vicinity. Little evidence for catastrophic (by terrestrial standards) meteorological floods has been recognised to date in Martian alluvial deposits. For these reasons, basin overflows may have been disproportionately important mechanisms for valley incision on Mars. Many of the Martian outflow channels also head in topographic settings that favoured ponding, including large canyons, impact or intercrater basins, chaotic terrain basins and grabens. Draining of this topography may have supported peak discharges of ∼106–108 m3 s−1, particularly in the largest channels, but the basin overflow mechanism does not eliminate fully the need for large subsurface outflows.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Megaflooding on Earth and Mars , pp. 209 - 224Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
References
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