EdEarl Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 sciencedaily.com [Assumptions that mars canyons were created by water are] far from the mark, says Giovanni Leone, a specialist in planetary volcanism in the research group of ETH professor Paul Tackley. Only lava flows would have had the force and mass required to carve these gigantic gorges into the surface of Mars. The study was recently published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. Will Leone become a lion of Mars geography? His explanation is plausible. On the other hand, Curiosity rover has found evidence of water. Will future rovers prove Leone right or wrong?
Acme Posted May 13, 2014 Posted May 13, 2014 Sounds like a stretch. Think about how small the Colorado River is in relation to the Grand Canyon. The water really isn't "cutting away the rock" as often portrayed, rather the water carries away the rock that weathers off the canyon sides and rolls downhill into the river. Moreover this goes on over millennia and so no sudden flow of anything is necessary. Time will tell I suppose.
Ophiolite Posted May 14, 2014 Posted May 14, 2014 The paper is available, but only by purchase here. However the same link provides the abstract of the paper and a PowerPoint presentation narrated by Leone. I am skeptical, with my skepticism founded on the distance the lava flows would have to travel. I should like to see some calculations justifying the compositions and resultant viscosities and temperatures necessary for transport that distance to occur.
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