HR: 15:25h
AN: P33B-06    [Abstracts]
TI: Impact Induced Fluvial Erosion and Ponding on Early Mars
AU: * Colaprete, A
EM: Anthony.Colaprete-1@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Ames, Moffett Field, MS 245-3, Mountain View, CA 94035 United States
AU: Haberle, R M
EM: Robert.M.Haberle@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Ames, Moffett Field, MS 245-3, Mountain View, CA 94035 United States
AU: Segura, T L
EM: segurat@colorado.edu
AF: Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Campus Box 392, Boulder, CO 80309 United States
AU: Toon, O B
EM: btoon@lasp.colorado.edu
AF: Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Campus Box 392, Boulder, CO 80309 United States
AU: Zahnle, K
EM: Kevin.Zahnle@nasa.gov
AF: NASA Ames, Moffett Field, MS 245-3, Mountain View, CA 94035 United States
AB: Impacts of moderate sized asteroids result in changes to the early Martian climate which would allow for short-lived, vigorous hydrological cycles. The extent, volume and duration of precipitation, surface runoff and "ponding" which occurs during these impact driven hydrologic cycles varies with the size of the impactor and the solar insolation at the site of the impact. Presented in this paper are simulation results from the NASA Ames Mars Impact General Circulation Model (MIGCM). The MIGCM simulates the effects of impacts on the climate of early Mars and includes a hydrological cycle from which precipitation, runoff rates and ponding can be predicted. Using the precipitation and runoff rates, total fluvial erosion rates are estimated and compared with observations of fluvial crater modification. It is concluded that the transient climates associated with impacts constitute a significant, if not dominate, source of early Martian fluvial erosion.
DE: 5407 Atmospheres--evolution
DE: 5415 Erosion and weathering
DE: 6200 PLANETOLOGY: SOLAR SYSTEM OBJECTS (New field)
DE: 6205 Asteroids and meteoroids
DE: 6225 Mars
SC: Planetary Sciences [P]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting