@article{e3ee70b051594c1b8749283715ff09ec,
title = "Lack of evidence for paleolakes in the Aeolis Dorsa region, Mars; a mapping investigation",
abstract = "The discovery of impact crater paleolakes, like the discoveries of ancient fluvial valleys, has been instrumental in our developing understanding of the history of water on Mars. Numerous and varied inverted paleo-fluvial deposits have been found within the westernmost lobes (Aeolis and Zephyria Plana) of the Medusae Fossae Formation, ∼800 km east of Gale Crater (and its inferred paleolake) and just north of the dichotomy boundary. Within the topographic depression between these two plana are located five ≥10-km-diameter craters that either predate or formed coevally with this fluvial activity, as evidence by stratigraphic relationships. The emplacement of these craters before or during pervasive aqueous activity in the region and their low relative elevation provide the environmental context supportive of the formation of paleolakes in these interplana craters. In this work, we test the hypothesis that these five interplana craters contained lakes by mapping, describing, and interpreting these interior crater deposits. Our primary focus is to identify any potential lacustrine units. Results of this investigation are the identification of sedimentary units with characteristics in support predominately of aeolian and fluvial paleoenvironments, with lacustrine depositional paleoenvironments as an alternative possibility for some units. The lack of conclusive evidence for paleolakes in this environmental context could be due to an actual absence of lakes or alternatively suggests limitations in identifying paleolakes from orbit and the possible presence of more crater paleolakes than have been identified remotely on Mars.",
keywords = "Aeolian, Lacustrine, Lake, Mapping, Mars",
author = "Peel, {S. E.} and Burr, {D. M.}",
note = "Funding Information: Numerous paleolakes have previously been identified along the dichotomy boundary, including near the MFF (e.g., Fig. 1C; Fassett and Head, 2008; Goudge et al., 2015; and citations therein), and, along with a plethora of IFFs in the western MFF, attest to the past presence of water in this region. Gale crater, located ∼800 km to the west of the MFF (−5.5° N, 137.9° E), was proposed to have previously hosted a lacustrine system using remote observations (e.g., Cabrol et al., 1999; Cabrol and Grin, 1999; Thomson et al., 2011; Le Deit et al., 2013), subsequently supported by landed mission data (e.g., Grotzinger et al., 2014, 2015; Rice et al., 2017; Minitti, 2017; Stein et al., 2018; Edgar et al., 2020; and citations therein). The lowest elevations of the Gale Crater floor are < −4000 m, more than 1000 m lower in elevation than the lowest observed (or inferred, see Figure SM5) deposits of the craters in the Aeolis Dorsa region (approximately −2900 m). Thus, the Aeolis Dorsa interplana craters occur within the range of elevations of regionally identified paleolacustrine environments proximal to the study area.Funding was provided at the University of Tennessee Knoxville through Teaching Assistantships for SEP and salary support for DMB. Support for both authors was also supplied through NASA grant NNX14AM03G to DMB. Funding sources had no involvement in the study design, data collection/analysis, writing of the report, or decision to submit this article for publication. Funding Information: Funding was provided at the University of Tennessee Knoxville through Teaching Assistantships for SEP and salary support for DMB. Support for both authors was also supplied through NASA grant NNX14AM03G to DMB. Funding sources had no involvement in the study design, data collection/analysis, writing of the report, or decision to submit this article for publication. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022",
year = "2022",
month = jul,
doi = "10.1016/j.pss.2022.105445",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "216",
journal = "Planetary and Space Science",
issn = "0032-0633",
publisher = "Elsevier Limited",
}