Paleolake Inlet Valley Formation: Factors Controlling Which Craters Breached on Early Mars

Abstract

The ancient surface of Mars is dominated by degraded impact craters with reduced or eliminated rim relief. Some degraded craters have an inlet valley, while many remain fluvially isolated. Despite controlling Martian fluvial connectivity, few constraints exist on why some—but not all—degraded craters possess inlets. We compared a suite of properties around degraded Martian craters with and without inlets to ascertain what topographic and hydrologic factors influenced inlet formation. Slope and surface roughness are similar, but topographic inset within the catchment, drainage density, and potential contributing areas diverge for breached and non-breached craters. We suggest that the importance of basin hydrology-related factors over topographic factors is the result of the former less frequently surpassing inlet incision thresholds than the latter. We conclude that greater topographic inset (i.e., craters deeper within regional depressions) promoted higher discharge, and that inlet valley formation was ultimately controlled by Mars' crater-dominated topography.