Hebes Mensa
Hebes Mensa is a large mensa that rises from the floor of Hebes Chasma, one of the chasmata of the Valles Marineris network on Mars. Some researchers have identified this mesa to be an interior layered deposit (ILD), similar to Ganges Mensa, and are named for alternating light-toned and dark-toned layers forming a stair-stepped stratigraphy. The faces of Hebes Mensa are sometimes fluted.[2]
| Location | Hebes Chasma (Valles Marineris) Coprates quadrangle |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 1.02°S 76.78°E[1] |
| Naming | classical albedo feature[1] |
Although many researchers have proposed a low-energy lacustrine depositional origin tied to continual groundwater feeding interspersed with occasional subaqueous volcanism, others have contested this hypothesis, noting that Hebes Mensa is so tall that it actually stretches above the canyon walls of Hebes Chasma. Such researchers propose that Hebes Mensa is actually a tuya, modeled on ones observed in Russia's Azas Plateau and in northern Iceland, which are volcanic edifices that form due to the effects of subglacial volcanism.[3]
References
- "Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature: Hebes Mensa". United States Geological Survey. 2006. Retrieved 11 November 2018.
- Beyer, RA; McEwen, AS (2005). "Constraints on the Origin of Fine Layers in Ganges Mensa and Hebes Mensa, Mars" (PDF). Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (1070). Retrieved 12 November 2018.
- Komatsu, G.; Ori, G.G.; Ciarcelluti, P.; Litasov, Y.D. (2004). "Interior layered deposits of Valles Marineris, Mars: analogous subice volcanism related to Baikal Rifting, Southern Siberia". Planetary and Space Science. 52: 167–187. doi:10.1016/j.pss.2003.08.003.