142-3 Differences Between Orbital and Surface-Based Geologic Mapping in Gale Crater, Mars: Learning to Embrace Ambiguity

Session: Geomorphology and Landscape Evolution of Mars (Posters)

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Here we report on the submission of a NASA Scientific Investigations Map (SIM) to the USGS focused on the western portion of the Gale mound at 1:60K scale using HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) images as a base layer. The overarching goal of this research was to better understand the stratigraphy and geologic contacts associated with mound-forming and mound-draping layers. Images from Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity images have conclusively demonstrated that orbital images provide an incomplete picture of the facies explored by the rover. Some materials identified as discrete units in orbital data such as the Vera Rubin Ridge were revealed to have a likely diagenetic origin that would have remained inscrutable without ground-truth data from the rover. While several unconformities have been recognized from orbit, ground-based observations revealed smaller scale and more numerous unconformities in the region explored, and this orbital-data-based map helps to place these surfaces of omission in greater context. Despite these limitations, intermediate scale maps such as this one are vital for exploring the lateral continuity of facies explored by the rover.

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