See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Mineralogic and Petrologic Mapping of Planetary Surfaces: The G.K. Gilbert Award Session
Abstract:
Thermal infrared imaging provides a way of mapping the processes that have operated on the uppermost surfaces of alluvial fans. Surfaces that display relatively large diurnal temperature variation consist of smaller grain sizes, whereas those with smaller thermal variation are either made up of larger grain sizes or are more indurated. Spatial patterns in relative grain size distributions provide an indication of processes that sort. We have thermally imaged a diverse set of alluvial fans in Owens Valley and Death Valley, CA, to assess the utility of this method. Images were collected from the ground several times per hour over the course of a diurnal cycle, and at multiple times of day from above using a light aircraft. We have also used lower-resolution ASTER orbital thermal images of the fans as an analog for THEMIS thermal images available from Mars. Initial evaluation of the data indicates that many of the sedimentary processes that operate on the surfaces of terrestrial alluvial fans leave distinct spatial/thermophysical patterns, beyond what may be observed in more conventional visible wavelength images.
See more from this Division: Topical Sessions
See more from this Session: Mineralogic and Petrologic Mapping of Planetary Surfaces: The G.K. Gilbert Award Session