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Architecture of fluvial and deltaic deposits exposed along the eastern edge of Jezero crater western fan
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  • Nicolas Mangold,
  • Gwénaël Caravaca,
  • Sanjeev Gupta,
  • Rebecca Williams,
  • Gilles Dromart,
  • Olivier Gasnault,
  • Stephane Le Mouelic,
  • Gerhard Paar,
  • James F. Bell III,
  • Olivier Beyssac,
  • Noémie Carlot,
  • Agnès Cousin,
  • Erwin Dehouck,
  • Briony Heather Noelle Horgan,
  • Linda C Kah,
  • Jérémie Lasue,
  • Sylvestre Maurice,
  • Jorge I. Núñez,
  • David Shuster,
  • Kathryn Stack Morgan,
  • Benjamin P Weiss,
  • Roger C. Wiens
Nicolas Mangold
UMR6112, LPG/CNRS, Nantes Université, France

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Gwénaël Caravaca
UMR 5277 CNRS, UPS, CNES Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie
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Sanjeev Gupta
Imperial College
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Rebecca Williams
Planetary Science Insitute
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Gilles Dromart
U. Lyon (France)
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Olivier Gasnault
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
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Stephane Le Mouelic
LPGN
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Gerhard Paar
JOANNEUM RESEARCH
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James F. Bell III
Arizona State University
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Olivier Beyssac
Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (UPMC)
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Noémie Carlot
UMR6112, LPG, CNRS, Nantes Université, France
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Agnès Cousin
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie - IRAP
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Erwin Dehouck
Université de Lyon
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Briony Heather Noelle Horgan
Purdue University
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Linda C Kah
University of Tennessee at Knoxville
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Jérémie Lasue
IRAP-OMP
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Sylvestre Maurice
IRAP (CNRS, Univ. Toulouse, CNES)
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Jorge I. Núñez
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
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David Shuster
Berkeley Geochronology Center
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Kathryn Stack Morgan
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
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Benjamin P Weiss
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Roger C. Wiens
Purdue University
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Abstract

Early observations from the Perseverance rover suggested a deltaic origin for the western fan of Jezero crater only from images of the Kodiak butte. Here, we use images from the SuperCam Remote Micro-Imager and the Mastcam-Z camera to analyze the western fan front along the rover traverse, and further assess its depositional origin. Outcrops in the middle to lower half of hillslopes are composed of planar, inclined beds of sandstone that are interpreted as foresets of deltaic deposits. Foresets are locally structured in ~20-25 m thick, ~80-100 m long, antiformal structures interpreted as deltaic mouth bars. Above these foresets are observed interbedded sandstones and boulder conglomerates, interpreted as fluvial topset beds. One well-preserved lens of boulder conglomerate displays rounded clasts within well-sorted sediment deposited in fining upward beds. We interpret these deposits as resulting from lateral accretion within fluvial channels. Estimations of peak discharge rates give a range between ~100 and ~500 m3.s-1 consistent with moderate to high floods. By contrast, boulder conglomerates exposed in the uppermost part of hillslopes are poorly sorted and truncate underlying beds. The presence of these boulder deposits suggests that intense, sediment-laden flood episodes occurred after the deltaic foreset and topset beds were deposited, although the origin, timing, and relationship of these boulder deposits to the ancient lake that once filled Jezero crater remains undetermined. Overall, these observations confirm the deltaic nature of the fan front, and suggest a highly variable fluvial input.
17 Nov 2023Submitted to ESS Open Archive
22 Nov 2023Published in ESS Open Archive