Candidate 1,2,#,*

mud volcanoes in the Northern Plains of Mars

1,* 1,* 3,*
Edwin S. Kite , Niels Hovius , John K. Hillier , Jonathan Besserer
1. Department of Earth Sciences, Cambridge University; 2. now at Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of
California, Berkeley; 3. Université de Nantes; # poster author (kite@berkeley.edu); * abstract author.

Abstract Figure 6. Håkon Mosby mud volcano.

Barents Margin, Earth; bathymetry from
multibeam sonar. Viewed from N. Long axis
We describe large moated domes from the Scandia region, near of volcano extends 1.5 km. Source: Beyer
et al., 2005 [21]
the Phoenix landing site, Mars. The Scandia Tholi are the only large
moated domes on Mars, and have been previously interpreted as
basaltic volcanoes [1], mud volcanoes [2], or glacial kames [3] Their
morphology corresponds closely to that of terrestrial submarine
mud volcanoes. However, dome spectra lack the signatures of
phyllosilicates or evaporites. No hypothesis satisfies all our
observations, but we interpret the domes as the probable result of
either mud volcanism (MV) or, less likely, magma-ice/magma-water
interactions. Either would require a stratigraphic column enriched
in volatiles to substantial depths.
Figure 7. Dome 13 in our catalogue.
Borealis back-basin, Mars; topography from

Context laser altimetry. Viewed from S. Long axis of

structure extends 50 km. Red is
-4433m, white is -4863m.
The straight ridge extending
The domes and associated mounds and ridge-bounded SE across the moat is an artifact.
depressions are largely contained within a basin, the 'Borealis back-
basin,' approximately 1500 km x 700 km and 400 m deep. A saddle
at an elevation of -4850m near 78N, 240E connects the Borealis Olympia dome
back-basin to the Borealis basin, which is the lowest region in the Figure 2. Location of catalogued domes.
northern hemisphere of Mars [Fig. 3]. The northward extent of the Topography has been detrended
to remove basin slope.
basin is obscured by the Olympia dome, which is up to 600m thick.
Studies of crater fill in the northern plains using a differential

-0.4 0 0.2 (0.8-1.1)?

compaction model suggest a post-basement sedimentary cover
thickness that is greatest in the Borealis back-basin and Scandia
basin [4]. Lineations defined by multiple domes are subparallel to
Discussion: isostasy
the continuation of extensional grabens associated with Late Isostatic considerations indicate that, if the domes formed subaerially,

approx. depth below plains, km

Hesperian / Early Amazonian diking at Alba Patera. Moreover, their source reservoir must be below the Early Hesperian flood basalts,
mound chains are radial to Alba Patera. because the thickness of the Vastitas Borealis Formation is insufficient
The stratigraphy of the Northern Plains of Mars is not well known, to engender 400+ m of extrusional relief. If dome-forming material is
and endmember stratigraphic hypotheses have very different mud with a density of 1.8 - 2.3 g/cm3 , and the overburden has the
implications for the history of water on Mars [5-6; Fig. 4]. Among density of basalt, our results indicate a depth to the source layer of
the lacunae in our understanding are:- 1) what fills the gap (if there 535-1367 m. This brackets the inferred thickness of the Hesperian
is one) between the top of the Early Noachian basement and the flood basalt [7], and tends to support the proposal that ancient ocean

bottom of the Early Hesperian basaltic flood lavas [7] - igneous
materials, or ocean sediments?; 2) how is ice distributed as a
function of position and time? Here we address these problems
through a geomorphological study supported by analysis of near-
infrared spectral data.
Results of morphological analysis
Figure 3. Hemispheric context. Stereographic
projection centred on N Pole; prime meridian extends
(1-4)??
Figure 4. Endmember stratigraphic hypotheses
for the Borealis back-basin. Absolute depths very
poorly constrained. Left: Thick layer of Noachian
sediments are present at depth beneath the Northern Plains [5].
Alternatively, if the dome-forming material is silicate magma with a
density of 2.65 - 2.9 g/cm3, our results indicate a depth to the source
layer for an overburden with the density of basalt of ~3.5 km. This
might represent a magma chamber at or near the top of the buried-
crater-bearing basement [16] .

Dome morphology is diverse, but an example showing many of the
observed features is the 40x50 km Dome 13 [Fig. 7]. Maximum
elevations (~420m above plains) are at the summit of a 7x5 km
marginal peak. Just as the marginal peak is associated with a pit,
the dome as a whole is encircled by a moat. Moat width (~2.5km)
and floor elevation does not change with azimuth from the dome
centre. The interior shows evidence for (formerly more complete?)
marginal and interior annular ridges. Marginal slopes reach 5 - 8°.
By drawing numerous profiles in gridded MOLA toporaphy from
the dome centres to a hand-picked dome edge, and averaging the
results between domes (n=29), we confirmed the visual impression
of multiple ridges in many domes. Aspect ratio is (0.93±0.22)%. The
best-fitting simple cone has aspect ratio (rise:run)~1:100 = 0.53°
slope, confirming the remarkably low relief of the domes Relief is
(418±90) m, diameter is (49±16) km. The amplitude of internal
roughness on dome surfaces is greater than that on the
background plains, making the domes resemble welts. Most domes
have central peaks, which have 5°-9° flanks. Their extent is always
7x4 km or similar, and they are often accompanied by peak-
marginal pits which resemble subsidence features. Concentric rings
(indurated ring-faults or, less likely, flow features) are present in 6
domes and possibly present in an additional 6. Inner ridges are
always circular, even though parent domes are always elliptical.
Moat width and depth show no correlation with dome height,
excluding flexural origin for the moats. Mean moat width is
(2.3±0.37) km (n=12). This narrow range of values suggests that
moat width is related to reservoir depth, and that the reservoir is of
the same order as the moat width, that is, fairly shallow. However,
moat width does increase with dome diameter, and the largest
moats show box-profile, deep moats. These observations are most
consistent with moat origin by collapse after removal of material
from an underlying reservoir, as expected for mud volcanism.
Slope-aspect relationships in the domes region show significant
deviations from randomness. After detrending, the relative
frequency of slopes facing S or N exceeds other aspects; this excess
has local maxima at (S±5°) and (N±5°). Because N-facing slopes are
more abundant than S-facing slopes, S-facing slopes must be, on
average, steeper. A control region at the same latitude shows no
comparable anomaly.
from bottom centre of figure. White: location of ocean sediments [5] as source for MV. Right:
domes and ridge-bounded depressions. Orange: Volcanic materials extend to basement; domes
gypsum-bearing dunes. Green arrows: discharge are due to silicate volcanism. A periglacially-
direction from circum-Chryse channels. Yellow and modified mantle (blue) coats the terrain,
underlain by the Vastitas Borealis Formation
red arrows: Spillover points at -4850m and -4350m
respectively. Black contours at -5000m, -4800m, and - (light green), Late Hesperian and perhaps earlier
basalts (light orange), and ancient basement
4600m.
breccias and sediments (purple/yellow).
Interpretation
All bodies with silicate crusts and diameters >103 km in our solar system show
widespread basaltic volcanism, but only Earth has confirmed MV. Therefore,
when assessing an extraterrestrial construct, one should assign a high prior
probability to igneous volcanism. However, (1) The suite of dome morphologies
can be matched one-for-one with MV in the S Caspian Basin [e.g., 11] and Gulf
of Cadiz [e.g, 12], although Martian domes have diameters ~5 times greater
than their largest terrestrial counterparts. (2) Moat morphometry excludes
flexural origin and suggests collapse during withdrawal of material from a
subsurface reservoir. Collapse moats are found in association with major
submarine MV on Earth. (3) The slope-aspect anomaly suggests that near-
surface dome material has been subject to incomplete insolation-driven
processing, and that dome near-surface material was partially volatile. However,
it is possible that dome near-surface material is compositionally distinct from
material making up the bulk of the domes. (4) Few volcanic constructs are
found closer to Alba Patera, inferred to have triggered dome construction. So
there must be a major increase in the fusibility of materials overlying dykes in
our study area. Granitoid rocks are extremely rare on Mars, but volatile-rich
deposits satisfy this requirement. (5) Mars has thick sediment piles, permitting
MV. Crater fill studies suggest that the Scandia and Borealis back- basins contain
the greatest thickness of post-Late Noachian sedimentary cover in the entire
Northern Plains [4], making these preferred MV locations. We infer that the
domes were likely emplaced by MV.
Discussion: triggering
Tectonic convergence aids MV on Earth by pressurizing shale piles,
generating anticlines that localise the buoyant mud, and weakening
faults that provide mobile mud with access to the surface [17].
Although wrinkle ridges, interpreted as blind thrusts, are present in
the study area, both the orientations of individual dome long axes and
the lineations defined by adjacent domes are oblique to the
continuation of wrinkle wridge trends beneath our study area.
Possible alternatives to tectonic convergence as triggers for MV
include:- 1) Rapid (> 10 mm/yr) sedimentation: Rapid sedimentation
following the most recent catastrophic-outflow event would led to
transient overpressure of fluids in the sediment pile. We provisionally
assign the mud source to sub-basalt, inferred Noachian – Early
Hesperian, outflow or ocean deposits (Fairen et al., 2003). It is difficult
to see how a fairly uniform outflow-deposit load could expel mud
from such deep deposits. However, if the mud eruptions occurred into
a transient flood deposit of water or ice, eruptions sourced from within
the post-basalt cover could generate the observed relief. In that case,
overpressure would be a possible trigger for mud volcanism. 2) Ice:
Differential loading (107 Pa in the vertical) of a regionally connected
mud reservoir by an advancing or retreating ice sheet would expel
mud outboard of the ice-sheet margin through any pre-existing
fractures. Increased reservoir temperature, following thermal
insulation by overlying ice, would decrease mud viscosity and exsolve
CO2. 3) Diking: The intersection of hot hydrothermal fluids circulating
above dykes with a thick, ice-rich sediment column could have directly
triggered MV in the planes above the dykes [18-19]. Alternatively,
graben radiating from Alba Patera may have created planes of
weakness later exploited by pressurized fluids.
Summary
Although puzzles remain and work is ongoing, these results support
the previous suggestion [2] that the Scandia Tholi were emplaced by
MV. If confirmed, this may have implications for the ease of future drill-
rig access to ancient sedimentary deposits in the Northern Plains.
There is also a tempting geographic link with young evaporates [20].

Results of spectral analysis

OMEGA visible/near-IR spectra of the domes show no significant
differences between dome and non-dome terrain. Both band
depth methods and linear unmixing models [8] yield compositions
dominated by ferric oxides and pyroxenes, everywhere in the
region. Some structures are visible, e.g. in low-calcium pyroxene
(LCP) unmixing ratio [Fig. 1], but there is no general correlation with
topography. This spectral uniformity may be due to recent
mantling. However, if it reflects the composition of the dome
interiors, the observations favour but do not require dome origin
by silicate volcanism. If the domes were emplaced by MV, the
spectral data may indicate that they tap a source layer of similar
composition to the adjacent plains, which are believed to have
been reworked from Late Hesperian flood deposits [9-10].
Figure 1. Left: Hypersthene/albedo percentage using linear unmixing
model. Right: MOLA topography (m) draped over shaded relief. OMEGA
3.9km/pixel track.
Figure 5. a) Terrestrial seismic impedance data
for S. Caspian submarine mud volcano (from
[22]. b) Regionally-detrended digital elevation
model of Dome 5. c) Interpretation of DEM, with
putative indurated ring-faults marked by yellow
dashed lines.
Discussion: alternatives
Could the domes result from magma-ice or magma-water interactions?
At present, we disfavor magma-ice or magma-water interaction as a
hypothesis for dome origin because:- most importantly, subsidence moats with
the characteristics we describe are lacking in terrestrial tuyas; kilometre-
wavelength, hectometre-amplitude surface roughness would also be
unexpected for tuyas; if dome extrusion was triggered by Alba Patera-radial
dyking, it would be surprising that silicate volcanism only nucleated at great
distances from the volcanic centre; the rise:run (1:100) of the Martian domes is
very low compared to relevant terrestrial analogues; and, least importantly, the
Scandia Tholi do not resemble extrusive structures in Cavi Angusti, previously
interpreted as tuyas [13].
However, magma-water and magma-ice interactions can produce a very wide
range of morphologies [e.g., 14], and their physics is incompletely understood
[15]. Therefore, we continue to investigate this hypothesis.
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Acknowledgements: E.K. acknowledges financial support from
Pembroke College, Cambridge, and from a Berkeley Fellowship. We
thank Talfan Barnie and Andy Lea-Cox for assistance, and Michael
Manga for comments.