Martian layered fluvial deposits: Implications for Noachian climate scenarios

Abstract

Fluvial deposits in a basin north of Holden crater exhibiting a sinuous, anabranching pattern are of deltaic or fan origin. Channel width and meander wavelength indicate persistent flow magnitudes of about 700 m3/s. If these flows were produced by quasi-periodic climate episodes involving typical terrestrial-style precipitation, the deposit required thousands to millions of years to accumulate. However, a scenario of deposition during a few short episodes of constant heavy precipitation resulting from large impacts cannot be excluded. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.