A Fluvio‐Lacustrine Environment Preserved in the Jezero Crater Inlet Channel, Neretva Vallis, Mars

Abstract Martian fluvial valleys provide evidence for the surface flow of liquid water, making them a key target for rover‐based investigations of ancient habitability. The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover spent ∼85 sols exploring the Bright Angel formation, exposed across the floor of Neretva Vallis: the western inlet channel of Jezero crater. This study documents the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Bright Angel formation to reconstruct its depositional setting. The unit preserves a concave‐up bedding structure consistent with a young channel‐fill deposit, rather than an older unit exposed by incision of Neretva Vallis. The lower stratigraphy displays a fining‐up sequence from coarse‐grained sediments up to pebble‐conglomerates (the Tuff Cliff member) into a ≥10‐m‐thick succession of laminated mudstone (the Walhalla Glades member), interpreted as a transgressive sequence recording the onset of lacustrine conditions in Neretva Vallis. Lenses of matrix‐supported granule‐conglomerate adjacent to the valley wall (the Fern Glen Rapids member) may preserve locally derived debris flows entering the lake. These are overlain by a polymict, matrix‐supported, boulder‐conglomerate (the Mount Spoonhead member), interpreted as a high‐energy debrite derived from the watershed. The sequence is capped by cross‐stratified sediments (the Serpentine Rapids member), preserving lake margin deposits. The Bright Angel lacustrine sequence occurs ∼10–50 m higher in elevation than the lake level anticipated for the Jezero western delta, requiring an additional period of lacustrine activity. The structure and spatial distribution of the unit leads us to propose that a late‐stage blockage of Neretva Vallis may have facilitated the formation of a perched, valley‐confined lake upstream.

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Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
Published
2026-01-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025je009420
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Planetary Science and Exploration
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
23.83
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article

A Fluvio‐Lacustrine Environment Preserved in the Jezero Crater Inlet Channel, Neretva Vallis, Mars

David Flannery, H. T. Manelski, C. Traxler, Sean Connell et al.
1 citations
Journal of Geophysical Research Planets
Planetary Science and Exploration
23.83
article

A Fluvio‐Lacustrine Environment Preserved in the Jezero Crater Inlet Channel, Neretva Vallis, Mars

David Flannery, H. T. Manelski, C. Traxler, Sean Connell, O. Beyssac, K. Stack, Bradley Garczynski, Alicia Vaughan, Justin I. Simon, Ashley Murphy, Robert W. Barnes, Athanasios Klidaras, Alexander Jones, Adrian Bróż, Brittan V. Wogsland, Gerhard Paar, Nicolas Mangold, Hemani Kalucha, Nicolas Randazzo, Joel Hurowitz, Jesús Martínez‐Frías, Briony Horgan, Oak Kanine, Svein‐Erik Hamran, Patrick Russell, Olivier Gasnault, Melissa Rice, Jusin N. Maki, Adrian Brown, Sanjeev Gupta, James F. Bell, Kenneth A. Farley
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Abstract Martian fluvial valleys provide evidence for the surface flow of liquid water, making them a key target for rover‐based investigations of ancient habitability. The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover spent ∼85 sols exploring the Bright Angel formation, exposed across the floor of Neretva Vallis: the western inlet channel of Jezero crater. This study documents the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Bright Angel formation to reconstruct its depositional setting. The unit preserves a concave‐up bedding structure consistent with a young channel‐fill deposit, rather than an older unit exposed by incision of Neretva Vallis. The lower stratigraphy displays a fining‐up sequence from coarse‐grained sediments up to pebble‐conglomerates (the Tuff Cliff member) into a ≥10‐m‐thick succession of laminated mudstone (the Walhalla Glades member), interpreted as a transgressive sequence recording the onset of lacustrine conditions in Neretva Vallis. Lenses of matrix‐supported granule‐conglomerate adjacent to the valley wall (the Fern Glen Rapids member) may preserve locally derived debris flows entering the lake. These are overlain by a polymict, matrix‐supported, boulder‐conglomerate (the Mount Spoonhead member), interpreted as a high‐energy debrite derived from the watershed. The sequence is capped by cross‐stratified sediments (the Serpentine Rapids member), preserving lake margin deposits. The Bright Angel lacustrine sequence occurs ∼10–50 m higher in elevation than the lake level anticipated for the Jezero western delta, requiring an additional period of lacustrine activity. The structure and spatial distribution of the unit leads us to propose that a late‐stage blockage of Neretva Vallis may have facilitated the formation of a perched, valley‐confined lake upstream.

Journal of Geophysical Research PlanetsVol. 131(1)
California Institute of Technology (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Planetary Science Institute (US), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (US), Joanneum Research (AT), VRVis GmbH (Austria) (AT), University of Alberta (CA), Queensland University of Technology (AU), University of California, Los Angeles (US), University of Oslo (NO), Purdue University West Lafayette (US), Université Nantes Angers Le Mans (FR), Sorbonne Université (FR), Laboratoire de Minéralogie & Cosmochimie du Muséum (FR), Institute for Excellence and Ethics (US), Apogee Technology (United States) (US), Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie (FR), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géosciences (FR), Johnson Space Center (US), Instituto de Geociencias (ES), Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (FR), Imperial College London (GB), Western Washington University (US), Arizona State University (US), Stony Brook University (US), University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 2%
Planetary Science and Exploration
23.83
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