| Title: |
Present-day debris flows on Mars are driven by the sublimation of dry ice (CO2) |
| Authors: |
Roelofs, Lonneke; Conway, Susan J.; Sylvest, Matthew; Patel, Manish; Merrison, Jonathan; Iversen, Jens Jacob; Mcelwaine, Jim; Kleinhans, Maarten; de Haas, Tjalling |
| Contributors: |
Department of Physical Geography Utrecht; Universiteit Utrecht / Utrecht University Utrecht; Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences UMR_C 6112 (LPG); Le Mans Université (UM)-Université d'Angers (UA)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Nantes université - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (Nantes univ - UFR ST); Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie; Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université - pôle Sciences et technologie; Nantes Université (Nantes Univ)-Nantes Université (Nantes Univ); Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique UMR 6112 (LPG); Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST); Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique de Nantes UMR 6112 (LPGN); Université de Nantes (UN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS); The Open University Milton Keynes, UK (OU); Aarhus University Aarhus; Department of Earth Sciences Durham; Durham University; CNES |
| Source: |
European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2025 ; https://hal.science/hal-05395596 ; European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2025, Apr 2025, Vienna, Austria. ⟨10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1643⟩ |
| Publisher Information: |
CCSD |
| Publication Year: |
2025 |
| Collection: |
Université de Nantes: HAL-UNIV-NANTES |
| Subject Terms: |
[SDU.STU.GM]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geomorphology; [SDU.STU.PL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Planetology |
| Subject Geographic: |
Vienna; Austria |
| Description: |
International audience ; Martian gullies are alcove-channel-fan systems that are undistinguishable from debris-flow systems on Earth. Therefore, they have long been hypothesized to be formed by the action of liquid water and brines. However, over the past decade, growing evidence of widespread, extensive, and particularly, seasonal activity in these gully systems, has shifted the formation hypothesis of these landforms away from water-driven processes. The correlation between the spatial and temporal distribution of CO2 frost on the Martian surface and the formation of new lobes, the movement of meter-scale boulders, and the cutting of new channels has led to a new hypothesis: debris flows on Mars are driven by the seasonal sublimation of dry ice (CO2 ice). However, the lack of direct observations of these flows hinders our understanding of the exact conditions that lead to these granular flows, their dynamics, and erosional capacity, which hinders our understanding of the formation of these gullies over the last five million years.Over the last three years, we have conducted three experimental campaigns in two environmental chambers (at the Open University, UK, and Aarhus University, Denmark) with different flume set-ups at varying scales to explore the feasibility of the CO2-driven granular flow hypothesis. We have quantified the CO2-driven granular flow dynamics under Martian atmospheric conditions, the physical limits under which these flows can occur, and have determined their erosional capacity. From these results, we conclude that CO2-driven granular flows can occur on Mars under specific environmental conditions and that the sublimation of very small amounts of CO2 ice ( |
| Document Type: |
conference object |
| Language: |
English |
| DOI: |
10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1643 |
| Availability: |
https://hal.science/hal-05395596; https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-1643 |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.C198C82B |
| Database: |
BASE |