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Global distribution of martian sedimentary basins

Session: Geomorphology and Surface Processes Across the Solar System

Presenting Author:

Abdallah Zaki

Authors:

Zaki, Abdallah S.¹, Goudge, Timothy², Mohrig, David³, Cardenas, Benjamin T.⁴, Day, Mackenzie⁵, Stack Morgan, Kathryn Marie⁶

(1) University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA, (2) University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA, (3) The University of Texas at Austin, Geological Sciences, Austin, TX, USA, (4) Penn State, University Park, PA, USA, (5) University of California Los Angeles, Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences, Los Angeles, CA, USA, (6) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, USA,

Abstract:

Layered sedimentary deposits compose thousands of outcrops across the martian surface, preserving one of the planet’s most complete records of past climate and habitability. Yet whether these sediments accumulated within discrete, long‑lived basins—analogous to terrestrial sedimentary basins—or were merely distributed, patchy outcrops remains unresolved. Here we synthesize ~22 000 published and unpublished observations from sediment-bearing landforms, including stratified deposits, fan-shaped bodies, paleo-bedforms, fluvial depositional ridges and sedimentary mounds to establish their spatial relationship to martian topography. The inventory reveals those sedimentary accumulations cluster geographically within major sinks such as the Northern Lowlands, Hellas, Valles Marineris, Meridiani Planum and the Medusae Fossae Formation. Analysis of topographic parameters—elevation and the Topographic Position Index (TPI), which classifies landscape features by their elevation relative to surrounding terrain—shows that these deposits occupy long‑wavelength accommodation space, with erosional valley networks are preferentially situated upslope. This systematic arrangement on the martian landscape leads us to hypothesize that these hot spots of sedimentary deposits represent the modern expression of large, persistent sedimentary basins that formed on early Mars. Ongoing work to potentially quantify the thickness, areal extent and volume of these basins will provide critical constraints on models of surface processes, climate evolution and the planet’s potential for sustaining life.