Deep-water polygonal fault systems as terrestrial analogs for large-scale Martian polygonal terrains

[摘要] Discoveryof giant polygonal terrains on Mars has prompted a 30-year debate over how theyformed. The prevailing hypothesis is that small-scale Martian polygons formed bythermal contraction, as in terrestrial permafrost environments. Large-scale (>1km) Martian polygons in the northern plains are visible in THEMIS, MOLA, Viking, and Mariner data, but how theyformed remains enigmatic. We suggest that terrestrial deep-water marine polygonsare morphological and perhaps genetic analogs to large-scale Martian polygonal features.The terrestrial, deep-water polygons are imaged in three-dimensional seismic-reflectiondata acquired by the oil and gas industry in offshore Norway and the Gulf of Mexico.

[学科分类] 地质学

[关键词] Fire safety;fatal fires;smoke alarms