Lava Coils at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Faculty Mentor Information
Caleb Renner, Author Dr. Shannon Kobs, Mentor
Abstract
Recent HiRISE images from Mars have shown 10-25m coils in channelized lava flows at Athabasca Valles. The definitive reason for their formation is not fully understood, but it is thought to be a result of primary volcanic processes. While Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve has long been considered an excellent analog for Martian volcanism, there is no record in the literature of similar lava coils having been observed there. Based on contextual morphology, we identified and searched potential lava coil zones using imagery in Google Earth and Google Maps. Of the twenty-five lava channels searched, twelve showed possible lava coils. The coils ranged from 1 to 7 meters in diameter and tended to be located in the center portions of channels. The coils were evenly mixed between clockwise and counter-clockwise orientation. Coils at Craters only had one radian, whereas coils on Mars had either one or two. The size of the possible coils at Craters was close enough to the maximum resolution of the available images, that definitive identification of the formations was not positive. While we are fairly confident in our interpretations, it remains possible that some or all of the possible coils may be the result of misleading shadows and polygonal cracks in the flow surfaces. Efforts are underway to ground truth the potential lava coils and use their existence, or lack thereof, to refine our understanding of lava flow textures on Earth and Mars.
Lava Coils at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve
Recent HiRISE images from Mars have shown 10-25m coils in channelized lava flows at Athabasca Valles. The definitive reason for their formation is not fully understood, but it is thought to be a result of primary volcanic processes. While Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve has long been considered an excellent analog for Martian volcanism, there is no record in the literature of similar lava coils having been observed there. Based on contextual morphology, we identified and searched potential lava coil zones using imagery in Google Earth and Google Maps. Of the twenty-five lava channels searched, twelve showed possible lava coils. The coils ranged from 1 to 7 meters in diameter and tended to be located in the center portions of channels. The coils were evenly mixed between clockwise and counter-clockwise orientation. Coils at Craters only had one radian, whereas coils on Mars had either one or two. The size of the possible coils at Craters was close enough to the maximum resolution of the available images, that definitive identification of the formations was not positive. While we are fairly confident in our interpretations, it remains possible that some or all of the possible coils may be the result of misleading shadows and polygonal cracks in the flow surfaces. Efforts are underway to ground truth the potential lava coils and use their existence, or lack thereof, to refine our understanding of lava flow textures on Earth and Mars.