Olympus Mons

Mitchell Kirshner3/11/14

History•19th century•Mariner 9•Viking•Mars Global Surveyor

Location18.65 °N, 226.2 °WNorthwest of Tharsis23 km tall, +21.287 km, -8.180km600 km across

Timeline MOC and THEMIS used to find that

Noachian period >3.7Ga yielded global volcanism

followed by vent volcanism in Tharsis, Elysium, and Circum-Hellas

later just in Tharsis and Elysium Activity localized to Tharsis around

1.6Ga volcanism was active until 200-100

Ma

Effusion• rate of magma supply to Kilauea and

Moana Loa averages .01 km3/yr• Volume is estimated to be 2.6*10^6

km^3• Using rate accumulation values given in

Hawaii, it would take 130 million years to construct shield volcano

Gravity

Aureole DepositsNorthwestEastFlank failure-induced landslidesIce-Lubricated Gravity SpreadingGlacial Interactions

Escarpment8 kmAssymetryNorthwest=shallow, southeast=steepWaterMass movementFaults

Caldera•SiO2 content •Lava fountain cinders

Magma Chamber•d<16 km•Estimated depth of Martian primary melts• 140-200 km

Atmospheric EffectConstant column density~5 decrease in mass from bottomLow atmospheric density

WaterDeep within volcanoShielded from radiationEast flank- faults

Future LandingsDifficult to study via rover8km escarpmentParachuteDust

The End