RT Journal Article
T1 Oblique rifting at Tempe Fossae, Mars
A1 Fernández, Carlos
A1 Anguita Virella, Francisco
AB This work shows the results of a structural study of the faults observed at the TempeRift (northeastern Tharsis region), Mars. A new, detailed map of faults and fault systemswas used to geometrically characterize the fracture architecture of the Tempe Rift andto measure fault length, displacement, and spacing data, to analyze the spatial distributionof fault centroids, and to investigate the fractal nature of fault trace maps. A comparisonwith analog models and the use of conventional techniques of fault population analysisshow that the Tempe Rift was most probably generated under sinistral oblique-riftingprocesses, which highlights the importance of the presence of inherited fractures in thetectonic evolution of the Noachian crust. The angle between the extension direction andthe rift axis varies along the Tempe Rift, ranging from 50º–60º at its central southern partto 66º–88º to the southwest. Fault scaling relationships are similar to those found at midoceanridges on Earth with exponential fault length-frequency distributions. Localized,inhomogeneous deformation generated weakly interacting faults, spanning the entirethickness of the mechanical layer. This thickness decreased from southwest to northeastalong the rift, along with distance from the central part of the Tharsis dome.
PB American Geophysical Union.
SN 2169-9100
YR 2007
FD 2007
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/51077
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/51077
LA eng
DS Docta Complutense
RD 18 dic 2025