Analysis of physical properties for
small landslides in Aram-Ares channels, Mars
Shoup, Jenaeand Kraal, Erin, 2014,
Analysis of physical properties for small landslides in Aram-Ares
channels, Mars: Geological Society of America Abstracts with
Programs, Northeastern Section - 49th Annual Meeting Lancaster,
PA, (23–25 March), v. 46, no. 2.
An east-west channel (located at 341°E and 3°N) connects Aram Chaos
to Ares Valles. The valley is approximately 80 km long, 12 km wide,
and 1.5 km deep. The north wall of the valley (south facing) has a
series of slope failures or landslides that form lobate aprons
covering the valley floor. We studied the formation of the six most
distinct landslides in this valley. Each landslide was characterized
using gridded MOLA topography from JMARS, including area, drop
height and run out distance. These relatively small landslides have
areas ranging from 5.6 to 55 km2. Landslide aprons cover
approximately 45% of the valley length. Their aprons run out ~ 10
km, often covering the entire width of the valley floor. Drop height
was measured using both maximum and minimum estimates due to
resolution limits of the topography. Drop height ranged from 1200 to
2200 meters. Using the drop height and run out distance, we
determine the coefficient of friction and maximum velocity for each
landslide using previously established landslide equations based on
physical properties. The coefficient of friction for the landslide
events ranged from 0.05 to 0.17, which corresponds to a maximum
landslide velocity of 117 m/s2 to 172 m/s2. The two largest
landslides, also located the furthest east, had the lowest
coefficients of friction (~0.05). While the smaller landslides
located in the middle, had the highest calculated coefficients of
friction (~0.17). The variations in the coefficients may be due to
landslides size, relative size, or possible volatile or ice content.
Future work will use higher resolution topographic data sets and
more detailed geomorphic mapping to examine these relationships.
Analysis of physical properties for
small landslides in Aram-Ares channels, Mars