This oblique viewpoint view of the Jovis Tholus guard volcano on Mars was generated from the digital surface design and the nadir and color channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESAs Mars Express. The volcanos complex caldera system consists of at least 5 craters.
Its complex caldera system consists of at least five craters. The largest is about 28 km large, and sits off center, as clearly seen in the strategy view images. The calderas step down towards the southwest where the youngest ultimately meets with the surrounding sea of even younger lava circulations. The lavas produce a coastline around the flanks, obscuring the original relief of the volcano, which now just sits about 1 km above the surrounding plains.
On closer look, individual lava circulations can be found all over the plains. These lava flows have likewise cleaned over fault lines, completing the sets of parallel graben that dominate the north and north east parts of the scene in particular.
Graben are sunken valleys created when the worlds crust extends apart, such as under the pressure of tectonic and volcanic tensions in this region.
This color-coded topographic picture of the Jovis Tholus shield volcano and surrounding features was developed from data collected by ESAs Mars Express. It is based upon a digital surface model of the region, from which the topography of the landscape can be obtained. Lower parts of the surface are revealed in blues and purples, while higher elevation regions show up in whites and reds, as indicated on the scale to the top right. North is up. The ground resolution is around 17 m/pixel and the images are focused at about 242 ° E/19 ° N. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
A high scarp of one of these graben cuts right into the eastern flank of Jovis Tholus. Some portions of this graben can be traced for a number of kilometers even more north, in some locations more substantially completed with lavas.
A hidden surprise lies close to the east of Jovis Tholus. Easily missed in the main strategy view image, the color-coded topography image gives it away: a less developed volcano discreetly causes the surface to bulge.
Zooming in programs a fissure vent, from which less viscous lava streams than at Jovis Tholus once appeared, perhaps in a similar design to the activity seen in Iceland or Hawaii on Earth.
Making a splash
In contrast to the volcanic craters, an extremely different type of crater lies to the north of the area. This 30-km-wide impact crater was developed when an asteroid or comet crashed into the surface, permeating the layers listed below. Its fractured floor and the fluidized nature of the ejected material around the central crater– giving it the look of a flower with lots of layers of petals– indicate the impactor striking a water- or ice-saturated ground.
More evidence of this areas watery past lies to the northwest of the crater. Zooming in to the long geological fault that truncates the leading left of the strategy see images are signs of an outflow channel. Water breaking out from here in the past formed structured islands and terraced channel walls.
Jovis Tholus guard volcano and surrounding features in larger context, as imaged by ESAs Mars Express. The mosaic was put together from 2 images taken May 13 and June 2, 2021, throughout Mars Express Orbits 21944 and 22011.
Some much smaller channels can be discovered crosscutting the northern ejecta blanket of the big effect crater too.
Massive amounts of water were likely purged from underground aquifers with time as an outcome of volcanic warming melting the ground ice, and as faulting took place, with the water taking the most convenient way to the surface area through the graben system.
Taken together, this single scene paints the image of a fascinating and very active planetary history.
Mars Express has been orbiting the Red Planet since 2003, imaging Mars surface, mapping its minerals, recognizing the structure and blood circulation of its rare environment, penetrating below its crust, and exploring how phenomena such as the solar wind interacts in the martian environment.
This oblique viewpoint view of the Jovis Tholus shield volcano on Mars was generated from the digital terrain design and the nadir and color channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESAs Mars Express. The volcanos complex caldera system makes up at least 5 craters. The volcanos complex caldera system comprises at least five craters. The lavas develop a coastline around the flanks, obscuring the initial relief of the volcano, which now only sits about 1 km above the surrounding plains.
Jovis Tholus guard volcano and surrounding functions in wider context, as imaged by ESAs Mars Express.
This oblique viewpoint view of the Jovis Tholus shield volcano on Mars was created from the digital terrain design and the nadir and color channels of the High Resolution Stereo Camera on ESAs Mars Express. The volcanos complex caldera system comprises at least five craters. The biggest is about 28 km large, and sits off. The calderas step down towards the southwest where the youngest eventually meets the surrounding sea of even more youthful lava circulations. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Volcanoes, effect craters, tectonic faults, river channels, and a lava sea: a large amount of information is recorded in a relatively little location in this geologically rich brand-new image from ESAs Mars Express.
At first look, two contrasting circular features jump out of this scene: a volcano that rises gently above the surface area with a collapsed caldera system, and an effect crater that digs below. Both functions have various stories to tell.
This image from ESAs Mars Express reveals volcanoes, impact craters, tectonic faults, river channels and a lava sea. This image consists of information gathered by ESAs Mars Express using its High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) on May 13 and June 2, 2021. The color image was created utilizing data from the nadir channel, the field of view aligned perpendicular to the surface of Mars, and the color channels of the HRSC. The ground resolution is approximately 17 m/pixel and the images are centered at about 242 ° E/19 ° N. North is up. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Volcano in a lava sea
Lying in the shadows of the Solar Systems largest volcano, Olympus Mons, the much smaller sized Jovis Tholus shield volcano bears its own proof of a long eruptive history.