Thermal isostasy and deformation of possible paleoshorelines on Mars

Abstract

Variations in martian surface heat flow, similar to those observed in terrestrial continental tectonothermally stable areas, could result in elevation differences of kilometric scale through differential thermal isostasy. This effect is enhanced with the increase of heat sources located within the crust. Local differences in the thermal history of the Mars’ lithosphere could have appreciably distorted the original long-wavelength topography of putative martian paleoshorelines. So, this work shows that a paleoequipotential surface does not necessarily have to fit well a present-day equipotential surface when evaluating paleoshorelines through assessment of high-resolution topography.