Depositional Environment of the Amapari Marker Band: Rising Water Levels Formed Kilometer‐Scale Lake in Gale Crater, Mars
Abstract The Amapari Marker Band (AMB) is a layer within the Mount Sharp stratigraphy that has been mapped around the Gale crater in orbital images and was recently investigated up close by the Curiosity rover. Symmetric wave ripple marks within the AMB indicate a lacustrine depositional environment in the area investigated along the Curiosity traverse. The wavelength and morphology of the ripples constrain the water depth to a few meters or less. The lateral continuity of the ripple unit defines a minimum extent of the lake during ripple formation. The stratigraphy of the AMB is consistent with an environment of increasing water depth during sedimentation and the lateral correlation of the AMB stratigraphy suggests a transgressive depositional system building upon an eroded surface. The location of the AMB within the surrounding aeolian stratigraphy, coupled with the progression of depositional environments through the Mirador formation, records a pattern of a rising water table relative to sedimentation rates. The potential regional extent of the lacustrine environment, based on orbital mapping of the AMB's variable elevation, spans at minimum 2.0 km of the lateral AMB deposit in the area around Marker Band Valley and may have extended up to 14 km to the west across the northern Gale crater.
Authors
- Gwénaël Caravaca
- C. M. Weitz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4646-0825)
- David M. Rubin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1169-1452)
- Claire A. Mondro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1107-5780)
- P. J. Gasda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0895-1153)
- Christopher M. Fedo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2626-1132)
- Jüergen Schieber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0689-0780)
- J. Grotzinger
- Edwin S. Kite (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1426-1186)
- A. B. Bryk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2013-7456)
- A. Roberts
- R. M. E. Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1571-6952)
- A. R. Vasavada
- Christina H. Seeger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4993-9724)
- Ashley Cowart
- W. Rapin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4660-8006)
- J. M. Davis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3522-7910)
- K. W. Lewis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3412-803X)
- Michael P. Lamb (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5701-0504)
- Steven G. Banham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1206-1639)
- Sanjeev Gupta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6415-1332)
- W. E. Dietrich
Institutions
- California Institute of Technology (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US)
- Los Alamos National Laboratory (US)
- Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR)
- University of California, Santa Cruz (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Indiana University Bloomington (US)
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (FR)
- Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (FR)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
- Published
- 2025-03-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1029/2024je008606
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Planetary Science and Exploration
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.93
Funders
- UK Space Agency
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory