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#1 2004-04-27 23:45:28

ERRORIST
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From: OXFORD ALABAMA
Registered: 2004-01-28
Posts: 1,182

Re: Artesian wells on Mars?

Any wells like this on Mars?

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#2 2004-04-28 06:01:53

REB
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From: Houston, Texas
Registered: 2004-04-07
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Re: Artesian wells on Mars?

Possibly here;
http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/ab1_m04 … 304128.jpg

Notice the channels running from several craters.

Could the impactors that formed these crater punched down to the water table (If one exists) To the south the land rises considerably. To get an artesian well, part of the water table needs to be higher than the exit point. If there was a water table starting in the higher southern region, it would run downhill, and then it would surface where ever an impactor punched down to it.


"Run for it? Running's not a plan! Running's what you do, once a plan fails!"  -Earl Bassett

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#3 2004-04-28 11:14:25

ERRORIST
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From: OXFORD ALABAMA
Registered: 2004-01-28
Posts: 1,182

Re: Artesian wells on Mars?

Here is neat site. Notice the high sulfur content of these wells.Many organisms dine on the sulfur from these wells. It reminds me of the sulfur rich rock on Mars they just found.

http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/repo … ...995.pdf

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#4 2004-04-29 13:02:11

atomoid
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From: Santa Cruz, CA
Registered: 2004-02-13
Posts: 252

Re: Artesian wells on Mars?

Possibly here;
http://www.msss.com/moc_gallery/ab1_m04 … 304128.jpg

Notice the channels running from several craters.

Could the impactors that formed these crater punched down to the water table (If one exists) To the south the land rises considerably. To get an artesian well, part of the water table needs to be higher than the exit point. If there was a water table starting in the higher southern region, it would run downhill, and then it would surface where ever an impactor punched down to it.

The image shows some sinuous channels, but It seems more likely that the impactors melted the subsurface ice and it flooded out carving the channels.

Artesian wells are often used to describe geysers and natural springs, differentiate this from an artesian *well*, where you actually drill beneath impermiable rock layers to create your own spring (and dont need to install a pump like in a non-artesian well). I think it might better be refered to as a spring or geyser.

However, it got me thinking that the conditions on Mars might be more conducive to artesian wells than they are on Earth. On Earth theres a lot of faults cracking and making plenty of escape routes for water tables to drizzle out as springs in many places tending to lessen the pressure except for a few situations where a slope of impermiable rock overlies a water table on the downward side of this you find artesian wells where there is some faulting. converseley on Mars, there should be a lesser concentration of faulting basically because theres apparently no ongoing tectonic activity, this would tend to make the water table sit higher and the few places where there is a fault would be the sources of artesian wells. On Earth, there are so many faults that mostly all you have are small springs. The problem with Mars is that it doenst rain, so the aqufers arent refilling like they do on Earth, so any artesian wells (or i should say springs) are likely to be ancient exhumed remnants. But if it were raining on Mars then id think we shoudl see many very large geysers at least until they erode out.


"I think it would be a good idea". - [url=http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Mahatma_Gandhi/]Mahatma Gandhi[/url], when asked what he thought of Western civilization.

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#5 2004-04-30 07:35:41

REB
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Re: Artesian wells on Mars?

The image shows some sinuous channels, but It seems more likely that the impactors melted the subsurface ice and it flooded out carving the channels.

I had thought that, but if this is true, why have have I not seen this on the thousands of other pictures I have studied.

On Mars, when an impactor melts the subsurface ice, it forms a muddy mixture that flows out from all sides of the crater. To get a channel like these (Seems to be one per crater) the crater would fill with water until it hit breeched the crater at one point, and then flowing out this exit point.

What about after the impact event, the heat from the impact had melted some of the ground ice, and it starts to seep in the crater? Is that what you mean? I think that would be possible.


"Run for it? Running's not a plan! Running's what you do, once a plan fails!"  -Earl Bassett

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#6 2004-04-30 15:26:08

atomoid
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From: Santa Cruz, CA
Registered: 2004-02-13
Posts: 252

Re: Artesian wells on Mars?

I had thought that, but if this is true, why have have I not seen this on the thousands of other pictures I have studied.

On Mars, when an impactor melts the subsurface ice, it forms a muddy mixture that flows out from all sides of the crater. To get a channel like these (Seems to be one per crater) the crater would fill with water until it hit breeched the crater at one point, and then flowing out this exit point.

What about after the impact event, the heat from the impact had melted some of the ground ice, and it starts to seep in the crater? Is that what you mean? I think that would be possible.

its hard to tell from the picture whether the craters are the source or the destination of the water, as in gusev the crater appears to be the destination.

if the crater were the source of the water, then inded it would apper to have breached an artesian water source. the sinuous channels should lead to some reservoir outside the crater which shoudl be a deep sediment bed like Meridiani.

But i wonder what would happen today on Mars would the water tend to signifficantly evaporate away before it could accumulate into a log-lasting sea or lake? or would it tend to accumulate a cover of ice protecting it from evaporation in the lake and increasing erosion in the channels? but in any case, lots of debris was moved via this channel and so the sediments should be pervasive and we shoudl see evidence of deltas or debris pans leading from this outflow channel (maybe there are some better pics of this area?)


"I think it would be a good idea". - [url=http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Mahatma_Gandhi/]Mahatma Gandhi[/url], when asked what he thought of Western civilization.

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#7 2004-05-05 13:29:10

REB
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From: Houston, Texas
Registered: 2004-04-07
Posts: 555
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Re: Artesian wells on Mars?

atomoid, a lot of pictures have been taken around this area, and I have not seen the channels coming from those craters.

I have studied thousands of MOC pictures and that is the only one I have seen the channels in.

Very strange, it is.


"Run for it? Running's not a plan! Running's what you do, once a plan fails!"  -Earl Bassett

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