Fluids mobilization in Arabia Terra, Mars: depth of pressurized reservoir from mounds self-similar clustering

TL;DR

This study investigates mound fields in Arabia Terra, Mars, revealing a pressurized fluid reservoir at 2.5-3.2 km depth through morphometric and fractal clustering analyses, linking fluid activity to crater formation and geological features.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method combining morphometric and fractal clustering analyses to estimate the depth of pressurized fluid reservoirs on Mars.

Findings

Reservoir depth constrained between 2.5 and 3.2 km.

Mound alignments linked to fissure ridges and fluid outflow.

Fluid pressurization triggered by impact crater formation.

Abstract

Arabia Terra is a region of Mars where signs of past-water occurrence are recorded in several landforms. Broad and local scale geomorphological, compositional and hydrological analyses point towards pervasive fluid circulation through time. In this work we focus on mound fields located in the interior of three casters larger than 40 km (Firsoff, Kotido and unnamed crater 20 km to the east) and showing strong morphological and textural resemblance to terrestrial mud volcanoes and spring-related features. We infer that these landforms likely testify the presence of a pressurized fluid reservoir at depth and past fluid upwelling. We have performed morphometric analyses to characterize the mound morphologies and consequently retrieve an accurate automated mapping of the mounds within the craters for spatial distribution and fractal clustering analysis. The outcome of the fractal clustering yields information about the possible extent of the percolating fracture network at depth below the craters. We have been able to constrain the depth of the pressurized fluid reservoir between ~2.5 and 3.2 km of depth and hence, we propose that mounds and mounds alignments are most likely associated to the presence of fissure ridges and fluid outflow. Their process of formation is genetically linked to the formation of large intra-crater bulges previously interpreted as large scale spring deposits. The overburden removal caused by the impact crater formation is the inferred triggering mechanism for fluid pressurization and upwelling, that through time led to the formation of the intra-crater bulges and, after compaction and sealing, to the widespread mound fields in their surroundings.