A Noachian Proglacial Paleolake on Mars: Fluvial Activity and Lake Formation within a Closed-source Drainage Basin Crater and Implications for Early Mars Climate

A 54 km diameter Noachian-aged crater in the southern highlands of Mars contains unusually well preserved inverted fluvial channel networks and lacustrine deposits, all of which formed completely inside the crater. This closed-source drainage basin (CSDB) crater is distinct from previously documented fluvially breached or groundwater-fed crater basin lakes on Mars. We compare our observations to previously established models of crater degradation, fluvial incision, and topographic inversion on Mars to assess the most likely origins of the water that formed the fluvial and lacustrine features. We favor top-down melting of a cold-based glacier as the source of water in the CSDB crater, which would represent the first examples of proglacial fluvial channels and lakes found on Noachian Mars.

Automated summary

This study identified unusually well preserved inverted fluvial channel networks and lacustrine deposits inside a 54 km diameter crater on Mars, suggesting a possible source of water from top-down melting of a cold-based glacier. These features represent the first examples of proglacial fluvial channels and lakes found on Noachian Mars.